Shades of Grey
by Lady Hanaka
Summary: Sakura knew that Sasuke would hate her when she brought him back to Konoha, but she was willing to let him do so, as long as he came back. She hoped she could save him from his darkness...but more than that, she hoped he could save her from her own.
1. Prologue

**Shades of Grey**

**(A\N: This is a Sakura\Sasuke fic, but it focuses a lot on the relationship of team seven. I hope you enjoy it.)**

Sakura Haruno had become quite fond of watching clouds. She'd taken to the afternoon diversions after she and Shikamaru had been on a mission and they'd finished early and he'd insisted on the strange hobby.

She was lying in one of the many fields outside of the village, close to the border of Konoha. She'd just returned from a mission and didn't feel much like heading back into the village just yet. She liked the solitude out here. Away from the villagers. Away from the hospital. Away from everything.

She was alone here, and she was glad.

She wanted a reason to feel alone, rather than to see it when she had everyone around her. That was when she felt the worst. When she would be surrounded by people and still felt utterly and completely isolated from them.

It was the worst feeling in the world.

And she'd learned to live with it—which made it all the more unbearable and disgusting.

She couldn't blame anyone else for it, however. _Naruto…Kakashi…Ino…Tsunade-shishou…_They tried. They couldn't see that she was dying inside. She was so good at pretending now…

She closed her eyes as she felt the grass caress her skin. The sun basked her in a warm glow. She wanted to fall asleep and never wake up.

Sakura looked up at the sky once more, picking out a few of the drifting clouds as she tried to shape them in her mind into a likeness of some sort. But they were merely clouds. They didn't change shapes, they made no pictures. Just clouds.

Sakura Haruno was used to being called weak. She'd lived with the fact that she was not the strongest her entire life. It wasn't hard to understand why she had lost the desire to train when she was younger. After being put on a team with a prodigy and a demon container with unlimited powers, it made a person feel quite inadequate.

But she had become stronger than before. She had pushed herself to her breaking point so many times. She had trained for days and days on end and yet she never felt as if she were improving.

She felt as if she were standing still and the world was passing her by. She wasn't strong enough. She knew she wasn't on Sasuke and Naruto's level. She couldn't keep up with them. _He's a prodigy, and he has a demon fox…what can I do?_

But she had slowly gotten over her own self pity. She couldn't help Konoha as a kunoichi if she were moping all the time. And so she had trained as much as possible. She was seventeen now—she had reached the age two days before. There had been no party, of course. She had been on a mission.

She knew her strength was small and insignificant. Her taijutsu that she had drilled into herself over and over again was only a little above passable.

But her mind…

Sakura had always prided herself on her intelligence. She spent years and years studying. She probably knew more idiotic, inane facts about shinobi than anyone else in the world. She knew every rule. Every code.

But it never seemed to matter.

Sakura's eyes shot open as she felt a presence heading towards her. She jumped up, a kunai in hand. She heard the soft skimming of a person against the grass and twirled around, throwing up her kunai to block the attack.

"See Kakashi-sensei! I told you Sakura-chan wouldn't let her guard down!" Naruto exclaimed as he caught the shuriken she'd blocked with her kunai.

"Sakura, what are you doing out here?"

Sakura looked up, her green eyes meeting one gray. Her former sensei Hatake Kakashi was as handsome as he had been years ago, when he had taught her, Naruto, and Sasuke. He never seemed to age.

She supposed she must have looked rather foolish. She had been lying down in the grass, clothes cut, bloodied, and torn from her latest mission, staring up at the clouds.

"Just taking a rest, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura answered, putting her kunai back in its holster. Kakashi almost sighed as he watched his former student—one who insisted on still calling him sensei. He'd expected that from Naruto, but he'd thought Sakura, at least, would just call him by his first name. He considered her his teammate now, not his student.

Naruto grinned enthusiastically at her, the sun making his golden hair literally glow. It matched his personality, and it made his blue eyes seem more intense. At sixteen, he had grown handsome, becoming less immature and a bit more serious. "I didn't expect to see you back from your mission so early."

Sakura shrugged. "It was a simple assassination mission. I didn't expect it to take as long as Tsunade-sama told everyone. What are you two doing out here?"

Naruto shot Sakura a worried glance at the way she brushed off her 'simple assassination mission'. When they had been younger, the thought of killing someone would have made her sick. She would have begged someone else to do it and take her place.

Like Naruto had begged her to do on _his_ first assassination mission.

Naruto had been sent with Sakura on a mission to kill a businessman. The mission had been simple. Sakura had taken out all of the shinobi guards, and Naruto was supposed to kill the man. But then he'd begun begging for his life, and he'd looked so helpless and sincere. Naruto had begun thinking that perhaps they could just turn him in to the police, or let someone else do it. Surely he wasn't harming anyone enough for Naruto to kill an unarmed man?

And Sakura had merely looked at him and said softly, "Naruto, this is a mission."

Naruto had just backed up a few steps and closed his eyes, shaking his head furiously. "I…I can't…"

So Sakura had killed the man for him. And then she had squeezed Naruto's shoulder and he could see in her eyes that she wasn't mad at him. There wasn't any disappointment. Instead, there was a strange respect glinting in those faded jade depths.

Naruto blinked as he tried to come out of his own thoughts. He'd killed since then, but it had all seemed so strange. The way Sakura had just gone in and killed him so effortlessly, without any remorse, or so it looked.

But his Sakura-chan had changed over the last few years. She'd grown quieter, more inverted, after she and Naruto had failed to bring Sasuke back to Konoha. And now he was running amuck who knows where, as Sakura and Naruto trained to become strong enough to finally bring him back.

Kakashi watched his two students. Sakura was staring at Naruto, as if trying to read his mind, and as if she were warring within herself as to comfort him or not, since his face seemed so distant and worried.

They were so different now. It surprised Kakashi—and probably the rest of Konoha—when the weakest member of Team 7 became a strong and invaluable member of Konohagakure.

Her green eyes had faded from their brilliant emerald to the pale jade of the dying leaves on an ancient tree. She would smile a soft, sad smile, and sometimes Naruto and Kakashi could force her to give one of her true smiles, but it was a rarity indeed. He missed the old Sakura smile.

"Well, we were headed to Hokage-sama's office. She said she wanted to see us." Kakashi answered back readily.

"I'm heading there as well." Sakura nodded slowly as she held up a scroll. "I have a mission report to give her after all."

"We'll walk you there!" Naruto grinned as they began walking toward the large building. "So, how was the mission in Snow?"

"Cold." Sakura teased with a small smile. Naruto slung an arm around her shoulders as they walked. Kakashi smiled at that. Sakura and Naruto had become extremely close since Sasuke's departure. They were like brother and sister now—or perhaps mother and child.

Sakura always seemed to be looking out for him. And it was in those times that the old Sakura, the one they used to know, came back, shining through the dead eyes of the empty husk she had become.

**(A\N: So? Not really that much to say. I hope you like it and continue reading. Well, until next time...**

**See ya!**

**Lady Hanaka**

**Corny pick-up line:**

**I heard milk does a body good, but damn girl, how much have you been drinking?)**


	2. Chapter 1: Pink Strands of Insanity

**Chapter 1**

**Pink Strands of Insanity**

It was a normal morning in Konohagakure. The sun was shining, giving everything a pale golden glow. The soft colors of spring melded with the blue sky, and the clouds floated carelessly overhead.

Just a normal morning.

The inhabitants were getting ready for the long day ahead of them. Venders were setting up their merchandise, cleaning the windows of their shop so that their products were easily visible. A few civilians were beginning their daily routine of heading out to the market for groceries.

The smell of food cooking filled the air, an enticing scent that caressed the nostrils and begged the poor victim to get something lest they die of hunger.

Children played. Men joked. Women talked.

Normal.

A young woman walked slowly down the street with her two shinobi teammates, her head bent down as she seemed to be absorbed in her own thoughts. To anyone not from Konoha, she would seem so out of place.

Her long hair which was tied back in a bun was an exotic color with a strange likeness to cotton candy. This was in stark contrast to her bright emerald eyes. She wore a deep maroon-colored, Chinese-styled shirt, which hung to her hips, where it met her navy shinobi pants, the standard of all Konoha shinobi. A weapons pouch was placed on her right thigh, and a few kunai glinted from where they were tucked into her left sandal. She wore the traditional shinobi gloves, and her Konoha headband was placed proudly upon her forehead.

She gave a small sigh as she shouldered her traveling pack and she continued heading towards the Hokage's Tower. Sakura was almost annoyed at the cheerfulness of the people of Konoha. Didn't they know that Konohagakure and Kumogakure were on the brink of war?

She was a little ashamed of herself and her thoughts. Didn't the villagers deserve to be happy? She was just jealous that, unlike shinobi, the villagers were left in ignorance and so thought everything was perfectly fine.

"Since you just got back, we're going to have to go and get some ramen, of course." Naruto began enthusiastically. She knew he'd been talking to her non-stop since they'd begun walking to the village, but she hadn't been paying too much attention, unfortunately.

"Of course Naruto." Sakura answered back without thinking.

"Like a date, ne?" Naruto pointed out. "I'll pay!"

Sakura looked at him out of the corner of her eye. She wondered if he'd gotten over his crush on her. After a while it had merely become a joke between the two of them—until Hinata had gone on a date with Kiba. Sakura had never seen Naruto so devastated.

But she wondered how much longer Naruto was going to sulk about not being Hinata's first date. She wasn't _going out_ with Kiba, after all. Perhaps Naruto flirted with Sakura like he did because she was one of the only girls he felt comfortable with. She didn't dwell on it, as they entered the Hokage's building and walked up the stairs in silence.

* * *

"Sakura, Naruto, Kakashi." Tsunade laced her fingers together, resting her chin on them as she gazed at the three shinobi in front of her seriously. She noticed how different they all looked from the last time she'd seen all three in the same room for a mission. With the way things had been going she'd been forced to run her resources thin, which meant more solo missions and less teams. Although they didn't seem to mind, she knew the solitude was affecting them all—or perhaps just Sakura, and Naruto. Kakashi was used to this kind of thing.

"I hope you are all well rested from your previous missions?"

A nod from all three. Tsunade's eyes drifted to Sakura, but knew better then to ask whether or not she was ready for another mission so soon. A few hours' sleep seemed to be all Sakura needed to function anymore.

"It has come to my attention that Sakura and Naruto are fully trained now. They are more than ready to bring back Sasuke Uchiha. Also, we have information that tells of his next location."

Kakashi merely nodded.

Naruto grinned. "Let's get going then! We have to get the teme!"

Sakura remained silent as she stared down at her hands.

Kakashi looked from Naruto, who was grinning and jumping up and down with excitement, and Sakura, who was staring down at her lap, her gaze thoughtful and troubled.

"And that location is, Tsunade-shishou?" Sakura asked, her face set with a look of grim determination. She was good at keeping her emotions in check now. It had shocked them all when she'd asked Sai for help in that department, saying she was too emotional to be a well-functioning shinobi.

Well, Sai's lessons had apparently worked. And besides that, Sai seemed to have gained some respect for the only kunoichi of his team.

Tsunade gave a small sigh. "I know I only summoned hald of team seven here, but I'm afraid that I can't send all of Team Kakashi to retrieve Sasuke."

"What?" That came from Naruto, who was staring at her in disbelief. He'd been wondering where Sai and Yamato were.

"You know as well as I do that we can't afford an attack from Cloud." Tsunade answered back icily. "Don't make this harder for me than it already is. Sending the three of _you_ is too much already. The only reason I'm doing this is because Sasuke Uchiha could be dangerous if he and his team Hebi join forces with Cloud."

"Why would they?" Kakashi asked..

Tsunade rubbed her temples. "Well, apparently Cloud has come across one of the Jinchuuriki and has decided to use them as bait to lure the Akatsuki to them, as long as Hebi helps them in the oncoming battle."

"But we don't even know if Cloud will attack us." Kakashi shrugged. "We haven't done anything to insult them yet, have we?"

"Define insult." Tsunade mumbled under her breath, before looking back up at them. "All three of you will leave in the morning. You had best take the rest of the night to rest and pack."

All three stood and nodded. "Hai, Tsunade-sama."

"Very well." Tsunade answered back readily. "Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, your mission is this: head to Cloud and bring Sasuke Uchiha back to Konoha."

Kakashi grabbed the scroll that Tsunade held out to them. All three turned to leave, but Tsunade spoke, "Sakura, can you stay for a moment?"

Sakura looked to her old sensei. "Hai, Tsunade-shishou. Can I ask Naruto something first?"

"Hai."

Sakura turned to Naruto. "Why don't you come over to my house tonight. I'll make ramen, alright?"

Naruto blinked at her in confusion for a moment, before a dopy grin appeared on his face. "Right, Sakura-chan! I'll go pack and then head to your house, ok?"

"See you there." Sakura smiled at him as Kakashi and Naruto left, closing the door behind them.

* * *

They ate their ramen in silence, Naruto commenting on how good it was every once and a while. Sakura merely picked at her own bowl, swirling the noodles around.

Naruto looked up at her with a frown. "Sakura-chan, eat up! We won't have ramen again until we bring teme back to Konoha and go out to Ichiraku. You can't waste good ramen!"

Sakura gave him a small smile. "I'm not a ramen lover like you, Naruto. I think I can survive."

Naruto shrugged as he went back to his bowl.

"Naruto?"

"Yeah?" Naruto watched Sakura continue to play with her ramen. "What is it Sakura-chan?"

"Would you do something for me?"

"I'd do anything for you Sakura-chan." Naruto answered truthfully, eyebrows knotting in worry and confusion. "What do you need?"

Sakura looked up at him seriously, and she saw a look in his eyes that made her want to cry. It was a look of pure devotion and loyalty. One only Naruto could possess. She believed he'd get her the moon if she asked for it.

"I need you to cut my hair."

Naruto blinked, staring at Sakura for a moment in dumbfounded confusion. "Nani?" He asked weakly, trying to give a joking smile as he laughed. "Cut your hair?"

"Hai."

Naruto frowned as he stood. "Sakura-chan, why would you want me to cut your hair? You're strong now, you don't have to have short hair to prove that."

Sakura merely held out the kunai, her eyes hard. "Do it, Naruto."

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto responded weakly, before he gave a small sigh and took the kunai, walking up behind her.

He began slicing off a few strands hesitantly, watching as the rosette locks fluttered to the floor of her kitchen. They looked so out of place against the white linoleum.

"Sakura-chan…you don't need to prove anything to him."

Sakura gave a small, sad smile.

"I know." She closed her eyes as Naruto continued slicing off her hair. "I'm not doing it for him…"

"…I'm doing it for myself."

_I have to prove to _myself_ that I am strong._

A few minutes later, Sakura looked at herself in her mirror and was satisfied. She fingered the short locks with a small smile. Naruto stood in the doorway of the bathroom, watching her uneasily.

She turned to him, "It's alright Naruto-kun. I like it like this. You did just what I wanted you to. Thanks."

"Right, Sakura-chan." Naruto nodded, his gaze still worried. "Hey…can I stay the night here?"

Sakura blinked, before nodding. "Of course Naruto." She stopped for a moment. "I don't have an extra bed."

Naruto grinned at her. "I won't touch, I promise."

Sakura sighed as she headed back to her room, rolling her eyes as she went. "I should make you sleep on the floor, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Awe, but you love me too much to do that!" Naruto commented as they walked inside.

Sakura mumbled something unintelligible as she pulled an extra blanket out of her closet and handed it to him, before slipping under her own and turning her back to him. The weight on the mattress shifted as Naruto lay down beside her.

There was a long moment of silence.

"Hey Sakura-chan?"

"Hm?"

"I'm afraid we won't be able to bring him back." His voice was just above a whisper, and Sakura heard the barely audible tremble. That was why he'd wanted to sleep at her house. He was afraid…

Sakura turned over in the bed to face him as he looked up at the ceiling. He turned his own head so that their eyes met. Sakura smiled at him, brushing a lock of his hair out of his face. "Don't worry Naruto, we'll get him back. This time, _I_ promise."

Naruto grinned, but she could see the tears welling up in his eyes.

"Thanks Sakura-chan."

"You're welcome. Hey Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"Don't forget to tell Hinata goodbye tomorrow morning, ok? She'll be worried about you."

"Really?"

"Hai."

"Oh…alright Sakura-chan. I will. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Sakura smiled to herself as Naruto instantly began snoring. The sound lulled her into a sense of comfort as she shifted on the bed, looking out her window. She'd opened the curtains earlier so that she could look out at the stars. The sky looked just like it had the night Sasuke had left her.

_Sasuke…_

_Sometimes I think I'm doing this for all the wrong reasons. Naruto just wants his best friend back but what do I want? I mean…do I love you anymore?_

_I don't know. It's so hard to tell. I don't blush when I think about you anymore. I don't get that undeniable urge to smile…now, all I feel is sadness and pain when I think of you._

_Nothing more._

_I wonder if I'm really just doing this to prove to you that I have become strong. To rub it in your face when I bring you back. To show you that even in Konoha I became strong. The weakest genin in Konoha became strong, Sasuke…_

_…and I think that doing so killed me._

_If you had been here, if you had pushed me to become something greater, perhaps I would be different. But you left…and now look._

_Every time I look into the mirror I don't recognize myself._

_…your brother destroyed your heart when he killed your clan…_

_…and you took mine with you when you left._

She suddenly had the impulse to go outside. She couldn't stay in the stuffy room any longer. She slid her window open, looking back at Naruto once before she jumped down. He was still sleeping, snoring so loud she was sure her windowpane would shake.

* * *

She just walked. It wasn't that difficult to do. She let her feet go of their own accord, closed her eyes, and went. She didn't even notice that she had gone into the downtown section of Konoha until he spoke.

"You shouldn't go walking alone in the dark, young lady. You could get mugged."

Sakura opened her eyes. At first all she saw was a shadow leaning against the wall of the bar, before she recognized the glowing flicker on the end of his cigarette. She smiled as she walked over. "Asuma." She greeted him with a nod.

He blinked, only then recognizing her. _She cut her hair._ He thought with a sigh.

"I like the new hair."

"Really?" Sakura asked skeptically.

"It looks good on you. Don't tell Ino I said that. She'll go cutting all of her own hair off."

She gave a small, dry laugh as she leaned against the wall, closing her eyes for a moment. "Ino would look horrible with this hair cut."

Asuma nodded. It was strange to see her like that, or so Asuma thought. He remembered when she had been a young, little girl of twelve, with her bubblegum-colored hair, bubbly personality, bad temper, and perfect chakra control.

Now only the hair color and her chakra control remained. She rarely smiled anymore, and if she did it was a fake, ghostly replica of her old one. She kept her temper in check, and she had matured enough that trivial things like Ino's constant teasing didn't seem to bother her anymore.

A subdued, serious personality had replaced the bubbly one. She no longer wore the ridiculous reddish-pink kunoichi dress that almost completely matched her hair.

If someone had told him before that the weakest kunoichi in Konoha would become one of the most feared interrogators in Konoha, he would have laughed himself sick.

But here they stood.

He couldn't remember when it was that Tsunade had decided to hand the girl over to Ibiki, but now when Sakura wasn't away on missions she was deep inside the ANBU interrogation base, doing who knows what to the enemy shinobi they had captured.

Asuma had always felt slightly afraid of anyone in the interrogation sect of shinobi. They knew every weakness of the human body and mind and could twist your thoughts before you even knew what was happening.

But he supposed that of all the people to memorize the weaknesses of the body and mind, it would be Sakura Haruno. But to become like she was now, Sakura had given up a lot of things. She rarely hung out with her friends anymore.

Ino was worried about her, she had told Asuma herself one day for him to watch out for Sakura and make sure that 'forehead doesn't wear herself out or do anything stupid'. Asuma had promised, but he didn't think he could stop her if he tried.

He took a long drag on his cigarette. "You should go get some rest."

Sakura had merely smiled at him and said nothing.

Asuma passed his cigarette to Sakura, who took a long drag and exhaled slowly, sighing.

"I thought you didn't like smoking."

"I don't, it'll kill you one day. But I need to relieve some of this stress. It passes time, too."

"What stress?" Asuma took the cigarette back.

"Oi." Sakura grunted. "A mission tomorrow."

"Don't be so stressed." Asuma continued, even as Sakura stole the cigarette from him.

Sakura frowned. "Shouldn't you be with Kurenai right now?"

"Mission."

"Ah." Sakura nodded. "We've been getting a lot of missions lately. Tsunade-shishou won't tell me why, but I know it can't be good. Everyone has been sent on specific assassinations and information retrieval missions. It's getting suspicious. I don't think it's just because she wants to show that Konoha is still strong after Orochimaru's invasion. That was years ago."

"It probably has to do with Cloud."

"Hn."

"You sound like him when you do that."

Sakura cast him a sharp look.

"Go home, Sakura." Asuma began again, ignoring her small glare.

Sakura sighed. "Hai, _father_." She grinned wickedly at Asuma, passing him his cigarette. "Tell Kurenai hello for me when she gets back. I'll probably still be on my mission. And ask her if she can help me with a new genjutsu I've been reading about, I'd like a second opinion from an expert."

"She'll be flattered."

Sakura smiled. "Good night, Asuma. I'll probably see you around in a few days."

"We'll all have to go out for drinks."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I don't drink, Asuma. I'm seventeen."

"Your sensei started early."

"I don't want to become an alcoholic by the time I'm twenty, thank you very much." Sakura bit back. "Do you have any idea what that stuff does to your liver?"

"Che. Medic-nin's. I shouldn't have asked." Asuma grinned back at her.

"See ya." Sakura waved her hand to him. "I'm heading down to the interrogation center. Ibiki and I have to go over some files."

"Sakura…" Asuma sighed.

"What?"

"You have a mission tomorrow. Go get some sleep."

Sakura looked as if she were about to argue, but finally nodded. "Alright. Can you tell Ibiki I'll make it up to him?"

"Sure. I'll get Anko to do it. She'll be finished in their soon, hopefully." He pointed to the door of the bar.

"She's probably drunk as a skunk. And if Genma is in there with her it won't help matters." Sakura shook her head with another side. "Don't worry about it. Ibiki won't mind."

Sakura disappeared and Asuma was left standing outside alone.

He shook his head in wonder as he snuffed out his cigarette in the ash tray just outside the bar. "I wish she'd hang around with people her own age." He knew he was talking to himself, but he didn't really care, as he walked into the bar to go tell Anko.

"She makes me feel old."

* * *

Sakura slipped back into the house without awakening Naruto. He was still asleep on her bed, except he was now sprawled across the entire surface, leaving her about a foot of room.

She shook her head at the pitiful sight, pushing him over. He didn't budge. She finally shoved with her inhuman strength, sending him flying off of the bed onto the ground. She heard him hit with a soft 'thunk' before his head appeared as he sat up groggily.

"What the heck happened?"

"You rolled over onto me." Sakura huffed, curling up in her blanket as she faced the window once again.

"You smell like smoke."

"You smell like you haven't bathed in two days."

Naruto snorted. "Maybe I _haven't_ bathed in two days."

Sakura turned to look at him with a slight glare. "Naruto, if you haven't bathed in two days then get the hell out of my bed."

Naruto grinned at her. "I was kidding, Sakura-chan. Go back to sleep."

Sakura smiled at him softly before she did so, closing her eyes as she ignored the butterflies in her stomach.

With a sad sigh, she realized that the fluttery feeling in her stomach wasn't nervousness to see Sasuke…but excitement for the oncoming fight to bring him back.

_To kick his ass._ She thought darkly, before grinning. The thought gave her a strange sense of comfort.

* * *

The sight that met Kakashi's eyes the next morning made them widen. Naruto was walking in front of Sakura in his usual attire, his traveling pack slung over his shoulder. But it wasn't Naruto that caught his eye. No, it definitely wasn't him.

It was Sakura.

Her hair seemed to have disappeared. It had been cut meticulously, until it was the same length as Naruto's—a spiky, unruly mess that actually seemed to suit her. All of it was so strange, except for her bangs that had remained longer, tapering her face.

She met his gaze, as if daring him to speak. He knew why she had done it, and he knew the significance behind it. He merely gave her a small smile, hidden beneath his mask. "Let's go you two."

"Let's go get teme back!" Naruto cheered, throwing his fist into the air.

Sakura merely walked out of the gate behind the two before all three disappeared into the trees, speeding towards Cloud.

"What did Tsunade-baachan talk to you about last night, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as they continued through the forest. "She said she wanted to see you for a little longer and I got to your house before you did, so it must have been important, ne?"

"Hai."

"Well…what is it?"

Sakura merely pushed ahead of them, ignoing his question.

Naruto frowned but Kakashi answered him. "Naruto, it's probably confidential. Sakura can't always tell you everything."

"I know. But I think it has to do with Sasuke…" Naruto murmured, before giving a smile. "Probably just some new kickass jutsu to use again him, ne?"

Kakashi smiled. "That's probably it." But as soon as Naruto looked away, Kakashi's smiled disappeared and his eye darkened with worry. After Sakura had left, Tsunade had called him into her office to talk.

_"Sit down, Kakashi." Tsunade spoke coolly._

_Kakashi nodded as he did so. "What is it, Tsunade-sama?"_

_"I want you to look out for Sakura, Kakashi."_

_Kakashi's brow furrowed. "Nani? Why?"_

_Tsunade sighed. "I've assigned her a very important mission, Kakashi. I'm afraid of what might happen. Lately she's been…unstable."_

_"What do you mean?" Kakashi shrugged. "I haven't seen anything different."_

_"That's what's strange, Kakashi. Sakura is the type of person who's emotion should change constantly. Otherwise I think it will all build up until…"_

_"Until she snaps?" Kakashi supplied._

_Tsunade nodded. "She's snapped once before."_

_"What?"_

_Tsunade gave another sigh as she rubbed her temples. "She was on a mission with Ibiki and Anko. They'd just discovered one of Orochimaru's old bases, one where he kept most of his experiments…"_

_"And?"_

_"Sakura had been hoping that Sasuke would be there, but they didn't find him, of course. But what they did find…I don't know what they saw in there only that all three of them came back looking like ghosts. I swear, I never thought I'd see something that could frighten Ibiki."_

_Kakashi nodded. Neither had he._

_"Apparently some of the test subjects were still alive. None of the three would describe for me what they looked like, they just blanched and averted their eyes when I asked. Sakura finally decided that they needed to give them the mercy stroke."_

_Kakashi's face turned grim. "There was no way to save them then?"_

_"Anko says that if they'd gotten there sooner then perhaps Sakura could have saved a few of them, but it was hopeless by that time. They were in pain."_

_"Then she did the right thing." Kakashi spoke softly._

_"That's what everyone else told her. She wouldn't let Anko and Ibiki do it. She wanted to make it painless, so she shut down their bodies from the inside. It makes them feel like…like they're falling asleep. Anko says that Sakura held each one of their hands and spoke to them before they died, trying to calm them down."_

_"Sakura's killed before." Kakashi answered back. "Even that wouldn't make her snap."_

_Tsunade nodded. "That's what I thought too. But apparently one of them spoke to her. She never told Anko or Ibiki what the person said, but they said she started shaking slightly after she heard it."_

_"Has anyone asked what the person said to her?"_

_Tsunade nodded once again. "I've even ordered her to tell me. She just says that it's nothing and I shouldn't worry about it."_

_She gave another sigh as she reached for her sake. "And apparently they found some remaining medic Sound shinobi. They brought them back here to be interrogated."_

_"And?"_

_"And Sakura insisted on doing it."_

_"What happened?"_

_"She got the information out of them that we needed but…"_

_"But what?"_

_"They've all lost their minds. I doubt they'd recognize their own names."_

_Kakashi's gaze was worried. "What did she _do_ to them?"_

_"I don't know. All I know is that any time they see the color pink they start screaming." Was all Tsunade said, her voice rough. "That usually isn't a good sign, now is it?"_

Kakashi looked to Sakura once again, sighing. He sped up so that he was running alongside Sakura, although she didn't do anything to acknowledge his presence. She merely continued running.

"Sakura?"

…

"Tsunade told me about your second mission. Do you think you can handle it?" Kakashi didn't know if he wanted to hear the answer. He hoped she would say no. Then, at least, he would know she wasn't completely lost yet.

"I will bring Sasuke Uchiha back to Konoha to face trial, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura answered back blandly. "If he will not come back and there is no other way to bring him, I am to kill him. I will do my duty as a shinobi."

Kakashi had been afraid of that answer. "I wish you had never become a shinobi, Sakura."

Sakura gave a low, dark laugh.

"So do I, Kakashi-sensei. So do I." She then sighed. "But it keeps me busy."

"Why did you become a shinobi, Sakura?" Naruto asked. "Everyone says your parents are just normal civilians."

"They are."

"Then what made you choose to become a ninja?"

Sakura looked ahead of her, her face grim.

_Sakura smiled, looking around at the marketplace as she walked down the street. She was walking alongside her mother and her aunt, carrying their groceries. A ripple went through the crowd and Sakura turned to see what was making all the commotion._

_There were three people walking down the street, an older man, a young one, and a little boy. All had black hair and dark eyes and she could immediately tell that they were related._

_"Those are members of the Uchiha Clan, Sakura. They are some of the strongest shinobi in the village. The young man, Itachi Uchiha, he became an ANBU a few days ago. He's only thirteen. Isn't that amazing?" Her mother said excitedly._

_Sakura's eyes were riveted onto the little boy, and he turned to look at her with a small smile. She smiled back, blushing and averting her gaze as she realized what she was doing._

_Her aunt stood beside her, seeing her blush. "Have an eye for the little Uchiha, do you?" She laughed. "You have good taste."_

_"Just let it go, Sakura." Her mother sighed. "His parents would only ever let him marry a strong kunoichi."_

_"I don't want to _marry_ him." Sakura scrunched up her face, making the two older women laugh. _

_"Well, he probably wouldn't let Sasuke date anyone who wasn't a shinobi either."_

_"Someone like Ino-chan, right?" Sakura asked gloomily. _Sasuke Uchiha...that's a cute name!

_"Hai."_

_"Oh listen to yourself, sister. She's only eight years old! She shouldn't be thinking about boys or dating until she's at least eleven." Sakura's aunt teased. _

_"A shinobi…" Sakura smiled to herself. "Sakura _Uchiha_, great Konoha shinobi." She then grinned brightly. "I like that!"_

_"I thought you didn't want to marry him, Sakura-chan." Her aunt began to laugh. Her mother joined in and Sakura couldn't help but laugh as well. _

"Will you be the one to interrogate Sasuke when we bring him back?" Kakashi asked, breaking Sakura's reverie. He almost regretted it. She'd had a small smile on her face, one of her old true smiles, but it disappeared at the sound of Sasuke's name.

"That's what Ibiki tells me."

"He thinks you'll have a better chance of getting through to him then?" Kakashi continued, noticing Naruto's worried gaze as he came up behind them.

"No. He just thinks I'll be better at making him scream." Was Sakura's only reply.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto began in a hoarse voice.

Sakura looked back at him with a small smile, a cold, distant smile. "Don't worry Naruto. I won't kill him."

The fact that she'd had convince them she wouldn't was what made it worse.

* * *

**(A\N: Poor Sakura-chan! They'll get to Sasuke soon, since most of this story is about what happens AFTER they bring Sasuke back to Konoha. Still, I hope you all enjoyed. It's slightly depressing right now, but it should get happier soon!**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka**

**Corny pick-up line:** **Do you believe in love at first sight or should I walk by again?)**


	3. Chapter 2: The Sound of Silence

**Chapter 2**

**The Sound of Silence**

Sakura stared at the fire below her. She watched as the flames licked the wood, turning from red, to orange, to burnished yellow. Bits of blue flickered in and out as well. Glowing cinders leapt to the ground where they curled into black piles of ash. Heat permeated through the clearing, but nothing could warm the icy heart of Sakura, nor could any restore the spark of life in her dead, cold eyes.

Sakura merely pulled her knees up to her chest, staring out into nowhere. She was in the middle of the forest, away from everyone else. She had needed some alone time. She supposed that was to be expected. She looked out through the cover of the foliage and leaves at the rest of the tree branches in her line of sight.

The pitter-patter of rain was soothing, yet depressing at the same time. It reminded her of a heartbeat, steady and smooth. Yet sometimes it would become erratic, slamming into the wood in small bursts of energy before quieting once more.

Sakura sat and watched.

And she thought.

_Sasuke…why did you have to do all of this in the first place? If you had stayed in Konoha we could have become stronger together: you, me, and Naruto. We would have become the strongest shinobi in Konoha, ne? _She smiled at the thought.

_And maybe you would have seen that my love for you wasn't just a simple crush. It wasn't an infatuation. I didn't like you just because I thought you were _cute._ I…I cared about you._

_Too much for my own good, apparently._

_It's funny, when I think of you I become a little bit more like my old self. I smile a bit more, at least. I suppose that's a good thing, right?_

_I'm insane, aren't I? I'm talking to you and you aren't even here._

_Not that you'd talk to me even if you were. You'd just 'hn' and walk away._

Sakura sighed. _I think the others are worried about me too. They shouldn't be. I'm merely becoming a true shinobi, aren't I? I remember all those stupid laws and sayings. I can recite that idiotic mantra my old kunoichi teacher used to tell us:_

Sakura straightened her posture, scrunching up her face like her old teacher used to do.

"One cannot explain to others our role in this world," She gave a small gravely sing-song to her voice, matching the teacher's perfectly, "for they would not understand us if we tried to do so."

The rain continued to patter against the leaves.

"Those who are not Shinobi think we are assassins for hire."

Naruto was sleeping on the ground by the fire, his makeshift tent keeping off most of the rain. The fire was sputtering out, yet it continued to hold its own against the never ending rain.

"We are not. Shinobi are not sold to the highest bidder. We execute the missions our kage sends us on because we are loyal to our kage."

Sakura stuck her nose in the air in that haughty way the old lady had used to do.

"We are not trained dogs. We serve no one but our comrades and our kage."

"You sound just like Yuichi-san." Kakashi chuckled as he sat next to her. Sakura smiled at him, but merely turned to look back at the fire.

"Well, that's what I was going for." Sakura shrugged.

"I thought I was going to take the next watch." Kakashi sighed as he shifted, looking down at Naruto as he gave a particularly loud snore and turned over in his tent. "He's going to alert every single shinobi in the area to our position."

Sakura let out a small laugh as she leaned against him. "If they haven't come yet they won't come at all."

"Exactly, so go to bed, Sakura."

Sakura sighed. "I feel fine. We're almost to the main village. I can sleep at the hotel there when we arrive."

"We both know you won't do that." Kakashi commented coolly.

"It was a nice try though, wasn't it?" Sakura asked.

"Close your eyes and go to sleep, Sakura. I'll wake you up if anything happens, alright?"

"Got it Kakashi-sensei." Sakura smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. She breathed in deeply, allowing herself to be immersed in the sounds of the forest. She could feel the flow of sap through the trees, the rushing of wind as it whipped passed branches. Twigs snapped as forest creatures walked upon the overgrown paths of the woods. And she heard the beautiful, melancholy heartbeat of the rain.

"You know, if you wanted a bedmate last night you could have told me. I'm probably much more fun than Naruto." Kakashi whispered teasingly.

"I didn't think you liked jailbait, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura murmured sleepily. She heard Kakashi begin to laugh, and she smiled unconsciously.

That was the sound that finally lulled her to sleep.

* * *

Sakura awoke early enough to realize that Kakashi hadn't made Naruto keep watch at all. She heard his level breathing the moment her eyes fluttered open and knew immediately that he'd been awake the entire time. His arm was around her, bracing her so she didn't fall off of the limb.

When she was younger she would have yawned and smiled at him, bidding him a good morning or perhaps blushed and swatted at him for the tight old he had around her waist. But now she merely shifted out of his grasp, eyes alert as they took in the surroundings and she jumped down onto the forest floor. The sound of her feet connecting with the damp earth awoke Naruto, who scrambled out of his bedroll with a kunai in hand, looking around frantically.

_Some things will never change. _Sakura shook her head as Naruto grinned at his folly, recognizing her instantly.

"Good morning Sakura-chan!"

"Let's go Naruto, we have a long day ahead of us." Kakashi said cheerfully as he appeared beside Sakura. "We should reach the capital by late afternoon."

Naruto jumped up and down in that excited way of his that Sakura hadn't seen for years. "We're getting the teme back! We're getting the teme back!"

"Come on." Was all Sakura said as she began jumping through the treetops, leaving a bewildered Naruto and an understanding Kakashi behind.

Naruto blinked, looking back at his former sensei. "What…?"

Kakashi shrugged with a smile. "Maybe she's having one of those girl problems again."

Naruto sighed. "Yeah…she seems to have those a lot."

Kakashi laughed as they both headed after their pink-haired comrade. Unfortunately, he wasn't laughing on the inside. He knew Sakura was dreading her upcoming meeting with the Uchiha just as much as Naruto was anticipating it.

* * *

When they arrived at the village they were immediately greeted with glares. While war had not been officially declared between the two nations Cloud wasn't too happy with the presence of Konoha shinobi.

"Naruto you should go find us a hotel." Sakura spoke, shifting her pack on her back.

Naruto nodded. "Alright. See you two later."

As he disappeared into the bustling crowd, Kakashi turned to Sakura. "Alright, I have some old friends who might have some information on Team Hebi's whereabouts. I'll check up on them."

Sakura nodded as he disappeared as well. She wasn't too worried, however. The people she was about to meet with didn't like being seen by too many people. Especially too many Konoha shinobi. That would arouse suspicion which they hardly wanted.

She let herself meander through the street, looking at different things in shop windows. One of her and Ino's favorite pastimes was shopping. Sakura now found it rather (god forbid) _troublesome_. But she would still dutifully go Christmas shopping with Ino every year, whether she was excited about it or not. Sakura looked at a small ebony comb as she passed by one of the stores and stopped.

She'd been rather sharp with Ino lately. Maybe it would be best if she brought her back something and apologized. She knew she'd hurt her feelings and she also knew that it took a LOT to hurt Ino Yamanaka's feelings. So she made a mental note to come back to the store after she was finished with her business.

Sakura walked inside of the nearest bar, ignoring the rough looking shinobi who glared as she passed—partly because she was from Konoha and partly because she was only a seventeen-year-old girl heading into a rough and tumble tavern.

She sighed as she walked up to the bar, sitting and propping her elbows up on it as she looked around the room. The bartender was cleaning off a glass with a rather grimy looking rag. He came to stand in front of her and she heard his impatient foot-tapping that told her she had better look up.

She did so lazily. "Hai?"

"Well, are you going to order or not?" He snapped.

"What would you recommend?" She drawled, eyeing him casually. The man was older, probably in his late fifties, early sixties. Like the other Cloud civilians he seemed to hate her as much as the shinobi did. She supposed that ten or so years of hostility between the two great shinobi nations could do that.

"To drink or eat, miss?"

Sakura glared at the man in annoyance. "Do I look old enough to drink you idiot? What do you have to eat?"

"Why don't you try the pork cutlet domburi?"

"Che. I hate domburi. I suppose somewhere else will have better food—and service." Sakura muttered as she stood, ignoring more hostile glares as she left the bar without a second thought.

As soon as she got outside however, she merely slipped into the alleyway between the tavern and another bar, before heading to the back. She reached the small back entranceway and slipped inside.

"Ah, blossom. I thought it was you I heard out there. Please, sit down."

* * *

Sakura gave a small smile as she sat at the small table opposite the wizened cloud shinobi in front of her.

He was in his seventies, with a multitude of wrinkles that showed the stress the life of a shinobi had on him. He still had all his hair, however, and a clean, sharp beard of white. He also had a quick, wicked smile and more skill then Sakura could ever hope to gain even if she _did_ live as long as he had.

"It's good to see you again, Kimura-san. I hope I haven't caught you at a bad time. Tell your man out there I didn't mean to be gruff with him."

"Don't worry, Hisao remembers you, even if you don't remember him. He won't take it to heart."

Sakura grinned. "That's good. I was afraid I'd offended him. I'm used to Tomoaki. What happened to her?"

Kimura's face darkened as he sighed. "She's dead."

Sakura blinked, before nodding. "I see. Someone found out she was leaking information to Konoha?"

Kimura merely nodded.

"I'm sorry for your loss. She was a good kunoichi." Sakura answered back. It was the closest she could get to sympathy. It was true that she had liked Tomoaki but she knew that was the life of a shinobi.

There was a small moment of silence before Kimura continued. "She did her job. But that is beside the point. I suppose you've come here for information on Hebi?"

Sakura nodded. "Do you have anything?"

Kimura nodded. "Hai. They were here a few days ago to meet with the Raikage."

Sakura sighed as she took a swig of the beer he offered her. She was too frustrated to care that she'd sworn she was too young to drink alcohol. "Do you know if they sided with Cloud or not?"

Kimura shook his head. "I'm afraid the meeting was completely confidential—just the Raikage and Hebi. I couldn't get you anything."

"Even being the Raikage's old sensei doesn't give you very good perks does it?" Sakura joked with a sly smile. Kimura gave her an answering smile.

"My old student is an idiot. He seems to believe he can't trust me."

Sakura laughed. "He _can't_. I think he's just a bit too smart for you Kimura, not stupid."

Kimura chuckled. "I am merely doing what is best for Cloud. If you win I know your Hokage will be merciful. She will not wish to take over Cloud, she will merely force us to sign some embarrassing peace treaty. That's much better than the alternative. All the Raikage wants is more power. He thinks he can get it by war."

"That would cost him." Sakura acknowledged.

Kimura nodded. "Hai. Too many shinobi would be killed by your better trained army. It would be best if you knew as much as possible and defeated Cloud quickly. There would be less casualties."

"Of course." Sakura answered back, taking another swig of her drink. Suddenly the door opened and the barman Hisao poked his head inside. "Kimura-sama, there is another shinobi here to see you."

Kimura nodded. "Give him the ok to come in." He turned to Sakura. "If it's a Cloud shinobi you'll have to think of something fast."

Sakura smirked. "Perhaps I'll just pretend to be your mistress. I could pull it off."

Kimura laughed. "I have no doubt that you could, blossom. And I'd thoroughly enjoy it as well of course."

Sakura grinned. "I'd end up giving you a heart attack."

That was when the back door opened and a man walked inside, "Sorry I was late. I was busy walking down the road…"

Sakura let out a laugh. "Kakashi-sensei, what a surprise."

"Sakura?" Kakashi blinked, before turning to Kimura. Then he shook his head. "I'm not going to ask." He merely sat down in the last seat at the table and took the beer that Kimura offered him.

"So I suppose you've gotten all the information out of Kimura already, ne Sakura?"

Sakura nodded. "Not all of it yet."

"If I had known that you two were such good friends I would have let you get all the information. My other contacts couldn't find anything." Kakashi sighed.

"That's because I'm the best." Kimura smiled over the rim of his beer. "There isn't even a point in going to your other contacts. All of their information would be secondhand anyway."

Sakura began again, aware of their limited time before Naruto came looking for them. He'd tear down the entire Cloud village just to find them and THAT would be bad. "So, do you know where team Hebi is headed?"

Kimura nodded. "The last I saw of them they were heading west probably to one of the three great temples. Apparently my old student asked them for help retrieving something. I suppose it is a…way to test whether or not they would go through with their end of the bargain."

Sakura nodded.

Kakashi was the one who stood, sighing. "Well, thank you for the information Kimura."

Kimura merely nodded. "By the way, Cloud has been secretly making an alliance with Grass."

"Thank you." Sakura nodded. "Our Hokage will use the information you give us wisely."

"I know." Kimura whispered, his face suddenly looking much older. He sighed as he stood as well. "These are sad times, when the only way I can protect what I love is by betraying it."

No one said anything, they merely parted ways, leaving behind an empty room with half empty beer bottles.

* * *

Sakura stared up at the ceiling of the room. She was sleeping on the floor, after forcing the other two to realize she wouldn't be a lady and take the bed. Naruto was slumped across it, snoring loudly. Kakashi was outside somewhere, keeping watch. She'd told him she'd take the first shift but he'd made her promise to try and get some sleep.

She was trying.

The room was cold, but Sakura barely noticed. She felt the soft warmth of the blanket around her body and it annoyed her. She didn't like the feeling, the strange protectiveness and comfort it gave her.

She didn't need comfort or protection. Sakura slipped out of the blanket, getting off of the hard floor and heading to the window. She sat on the windowsill, looking out at the sky.

_When we were still team seven, I would stay up as all of you fell asleep during a mission. I always felt so peaceful and comforted, knowing that I had all three of my boys with me. Everything was perfect._

_I'd stare up at the sky and I would know…I knew that this was what I wanted. To stay there forever._

Sakura's eyes hardened as she watched the sky.

_But time waits for no one. There's no such thing as perfect, just a child's stupid dreams. I am no longer a naïve twelve-year-old. I suppose we've all lost our innocence, ne?_

She gave a harsh laugh at the absurdity of it all. When she'd first been put on team seven she should have realized that everything would end in disaster. She was the only one unscathed, even then. Sakura Haruno…the idiot. Surely she should have seen it coming. She could have hardened her resolve and saved herself all of this heartbreak.

Sakura stared down at her hands and a sad, tired look crossed her face. _And now I'm the furthest one from innocence. It's funny, the fact that I hate Sasuke for what he's done but don't I do the same thing? Is it different because I do it for my village or are we all just trying to justify ourselves?_

Sakura sighed. To tell the truth she didn't care. She was a kunoichi who protected her village and she was damn good at it. She would protect it any way she had to. Even if it meant getting those strange stares from some of the other shinobi when they saw the small mark on her gloves that identified her as a member of the interrogation unit. She knew that her job was dirty and unpleasant but someone had to do it.

Even those few times she'd gone out as a hunter-nin and killed defecting shinobi. Ones who had decided to betray Konoha…

_She landed on the ground in front of the man, eyes hard. Her mask hid her facial expression as she squatted down so that she was looking him in the eyes. His breathing was ragged and several kunai, shuriken, and senbon sprouted from his limbs, blood trickling out and soaking his outfit._

_Soaking the Konoha vest that he didn't have the right to wear anymore. _

_"…please…just let me…explain…" The man gasped out, coughing up a bit of blood. He'd led her on an exciting chase but it was over now and she was annoyed with the fact that he was begging. Did he expect sympathy?_

_But a small part of her—the old twelve-year-old Sakura—urged her to hear him out. She decided to humor her naïve younger self. "Very well, explain."_

_"…the village…all I do is kill and kill and kill…" He gave a dark laugh. "I never see my family…my two daughters barely know what I look like…when they see me they get the strange look on their faces and hide behind their mother's skirt because they're afraid of…of _me_."_

_Did he expect her to sympathize?_

_"There never seems to be an end to the killing…I thought I could leave and start a new life…I'd get my family out of the village after I'd found a place for us to live."_

_Sakura snorted derisively. "That's pathetic. Afraid of a little blood?"_

_The man's eyes narrowed as he pleaded with her frantically, voice hoarse. "I will never get the blood off of my hands!"_

_"Then stop trying." Sakura answered back coldly. "We are shinobi of Konohagakure. We fight for our village to protect those that are precious to us. We become stained so that others can remain pure and untouched. That is the way of the shinobi."_

_The man shook his head with a wry smile. "…you've been betrayed before, haven't you?"_

_She said nothing, and she knew that he knew the answer to his question._

_"What will happen to shinobi when there are no more battles and no more wars? What will you do with your life then? Settle down, have children?" He laughed harshly. "Will you be able to survive without the chance to kill and slaughter and spill blood?"_

_Sakura grabbed the man's jacket, hauling him forward until his face was mere centimeters from her mask. "People like you—people like the boy who betrayed me—they are the reason that shinobi will never lose their purpose. Even if there are no more wars there will always be betrayal and that is what I live for now."_

_The man sighed, as if he had just aged ten years. "You sound so young and yet so convinced…I pity you, whoever you are."_

_"I don't need pity."_

_He smiled, even as Sakura saw that he was slipping away and his eyes began closing. "I rather think you do…"_

_She stared down at the dead man as his full weight fell against her. She ignored the way his blood seeped into her own clothing. She merely stayed there, unsure of what to do. She should have healed him earlier instead of talking with him like she had done. Perhaps he would still be alive and able to go to his trial._

_Because he was wrong about Sakura on some levels. _

_She hated killing those that ran. She always captured them and sent them back to Konoha for a trial. Because there, at least, there was a chance for salvation._

_And the twelve-year-old Sakura believed everyone deserved a second chance. And for some odd reason she had a lot more control then the real Sakura believed._

Sakura rested her head in her hands and sighed deeply, giving a small growl of frustration. Why did everything have to be so complicated? She was sick and tired of everything. She could always feel the blood that covered her hands, but she'd learned to live with the fact. And the looks…it wasn't the fright of the other shinobi that made her sick to her stomach. No it was _their_ looks. The families…wives…children…parents…

_Sakura slowly walked into the village, the dead man on her back. The two shinobi at the gate nodded at her, but they made no attempt to help. It was her burden to bear and she wouldn't have let them take the body even if they had asked. _

_She ignored the glances of the civilians as they averted their children's eyes from the grisly scene, murmuring amongst themselves as they always did. They knew that Sakura wasn't merely helping an injured comrade. The hunter-nin mask told them all the truth. This man had betrayed their village and Sakura had gone to seek retribution._

_"Kyoko!"_

_Sakura blinked at the woman running up to her, face pale and body shaking. "K…kyoko…that's my husband!"_

_Sakura's grip tightened around the man's body as she continued walking. _

_"What happened to him? Please…I…" Her desperate whisper made Sakura stop, even though she knew she shouldn't have. _

_"He betrayed his village."_

_She watched the different emotions play across the woman's face: disbelief, denial, sadness, doubt…anger. Yes, anger was the last and most prominent as the woman's eyes hardened._

_"All he has ever done has been for this village! How _dare_ you!"_

_Sakura merely continued walking, ignoring the woman. It was too painful to watch her any longer. Too painful to see the hate directed at her._

_"He's protected this village his entire life and this is how he's repaid?"_

_Sakura looked over her shoulder at her, sighing. "If he had been brought back alive he would have been charged with abandoning the village."_

"_He had a _family_." The woman answered back hoarsely. _

_That was the last Sakura heard as she disappeared in a gust of wind, heading towards the Hokage's tower. She couldn't deal with it anymore. She was glad she was wearing a mask and a wrap around her hair to cover the pink. The woman would never recognize her when she walked down the streets with Naruto and Kakashi._

_Sakura remembered the woman well. She was an old friend of her mother and she would often come over for tea. _

_Sakura had never met the woman's husband. She supposed she was grateful for that. It would have been harder._

_But a shinobi has no time to feel pity and guilt. A friend is no longer a friend once they betray their village._

Sakura ignored the way her mind shrieked at her for those thoughts. Hadn't she told everyone about how she would always welcome Sasuke home? How even though he had betrayed their village she loved him?

_I was young and naïve back then. I didn't understand anything. _Sakura murmured to herself as she balled her hands into fists, her fingernails cutting into her palms.

_And now? What will happen this time when you see him? Will you feel what you once did or will you remain a cold killer, Sakura?_

Sakura gave a laugh that sounded more like a choked sob as she leaned against the windowsill. She honestly didn't know what she'd do. She was so different now. A small part of her wanted to believe she'd see him and all her love for him would return and he'd finally see that. Another small part of her just wanted her to do her job and bring him back to Konoha and then forget about him. Let the others deal with him.

And a large part of her wanted to make him hurt for what he'd done.

* * *

Naruto yawned as he awoke, scratching the itch on his back as he sat up. He noticed that Sakura was sitting on the window ledge, looking out at the sun as it rose. She always looked pretty when the sun hit her face like that. Why had Sasuke never seen what Naruto had?

If he had known how beautiful Sakura would become—how strong she had become…would he have left?

Naruto's gaze turned to a worried one as he realized she hadn't slept at all. "Sakura-chan…you were supposed to wake me up to take a shift!"

"You need your strength." Sakura shrugged as she looked back at him.

"So do you." Naruto argued back, jumping out of the bed and throwing off his pajama shirt, slipping his other one on. He knew it didn't make Sakura uncomfortable. They were too close to let a little bare skin shown between the two freak them out.

They'd once seen a lot more then just a little bare skin anyway. So there wasn't really much of a point in hiding it.

Sakura had been depleted of chakra after a battle in snow country and had fallen into the icy river. Naruto had dove in to save her and they'd both been freezing. They'd found a small cave and Sakura had told him that they'd have to strip down and share body warmth if they wanted to survive.

That was when Naruto had still had a small crush on Sakura, but he knew that they would end up dying if he didn't do something. So they curled around each other underneath a blanket, talking so that they could force themselves to stay awake.

Naruto had never felt so close to someone as he had felt to Sakura at that moment. That was when he'd realized that she was more then just a teammate and a simple crush. He loved her, but not in the way he'd always hoped he would. She was his sister and his mother wrapped in one now. Someone he could talk to when he needed to. Someone who would share his secrets.

They'd shared so many secrets that night…

_"N-Naruto…" Sakura whispered, teeth chattering. Naruto opened his eyes groggily, trying to ignore the way she was slapping his cheeks. It made the warmth return to them, but he didn't like the sting it brought as well._

_"What?" He muttered as he tried to close his eyes again. He was so sleepy…_

_"Stay awake Naruto." She clutched at him and Naruto tried to ignore the way her body felt against him. "You have to stay awake. If you don't you'll never wake up."_

_Naruto nodded with a small smile. "Alright Sakura-chan. Tell me a story and I'll stay awake."_

_Sakura gave him her own small smile. "Ok…there was once a little girl who—"_

_"Not that kind of story Sakura. Tell me something about yourself that I've never heard before."_

_Sakura stared at him for a few minutes as the silence ticked by. He shifted in the blanket, holding her close. "Sakura-chan come on, I wanna know your deepest darkest secret."_

_Sakura finally gave a sigh. "As long as you tell me yours."_

_"You already _know_ mine."_

_"The Kyuubi doesn't count." She snapped back in that teasing way of her's. Naruto couldn't help but smile at her face. It was strange, the fact that she was always prettiest when she had that annoyed look in her eye._

_"Don't try and change the subject. Tell me something."_

_Sakura sighed. "Oh all right. How's this, during our final test at the ninja academy I cheated off of Shikamaru's paper."_

_Naruto let out a whoop of laughter and Sakura couldn't help but join in as he threw his head back and chuckled. She liked the sound of Naruto's laughter. _

_"You mean you wouldn't have passed the academy if you hadn't cheated?"_

_Sakura gave him a level look. "No, I just wouldn't have passed with a one hundred."_

_Naruto grinned. "Ah, I see. You couldn't let your score get ruined right?"_

_"It doesn't really matter, I still only got a ninety three. All the answers I got from Shikamaru were wrong." Sakura huffed. Naruto let out another whoop._

_"Of course they were. He's too lazy to even give the right answer."_

_"I know. All they said were: "this is troublesome" "Choji's eating _again_" and my personal favorite "I could be sleeping right now"."_

_Naruto grinned at Sakura, liking that teasing smile on her face. He hadn't seen it in a while. _

_"So, what's_ your _deepest darkest secret?"_

_Naruto thought for a moment, before he leaned in and whispered, "I'm not thinking any perverted thoughts right now."_

_She slapped him on the head like she used to do and laughed. "How is that a dark secret?"_

_"Oh come on, we're both _completely naked_ under a blanket! You should be proud that I'm not groping you or something. If the guys found out I was alone and naked with you somewhere and I didn't get _anything_ then I'd never hear the end of it." Naruto exclaimed dramatically. _

_Sakura merely shook her head with a wondering smile before she placed it on Naruto's shoulder and he rested his chin on the top of her head where her hair tickled his nose._

_They stayed that way the rest of the night, talking about anything and everything that popped into their heads liked favorite foods, good restaurants, and their friends back in Konoha. They hadn't talked like that for a long time and Naruto thanked whoever was up there that he'd gotten this chance to do so now._

_He felt as if he'd gotten a little piece of Sakura back for them. One of those little pieces of her that had been lost when Sasuke had left. He wanted to find the others, so that when Sasuke returned she'd be whole again and then they would truly be just like they used to be._

_It was a nice thought._

That was when Kakashi opened the door and smiled at the two of them—even as Naruto stripped off his pants and began putting on his shinobi one's. "Glad to see we're all comfortable with each other." This received a snort from Sakura and a whine from Naruto about how insensitive their sensei was. "But we have to get going, so hurry up and change Naruto."

"I'm on it, I'm on it…" Naruto grumbled, placing on his headband. "Let's do this already."

* * *

**(A\N: So very sorry for the lateness of this chapter. But now I have a computer and get back to updating regularly. Yay! I hope you liked it. Yes, Sakura does sound kind of emo…oi. Oh well, I like her all hard core and slightly bitchy. It makes it fun. **

**I think that's what I like about Sakura so much. **_**Because**_** she is like she is you can make her into so many different things. Of all the characters in Naruto she has the most areas to improve on. I mean, what are you going to do with Sasuke, make him weak? Make Hinata stop being shy? Make Shikamaru stop saying troublesome? You can't change the other characters without making them OOC but if you can make it believable you can make Sakura anything you want—which is cool! **

**Ok so enough of my ramblings…well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka**

**Pick-up line: ****Do you have a quarter? My mom told me to call her when I fell in love.)**


	4. Chapter 3: Whispers in the Wind

**Chapter 3**

**Whispers in the Wind**

Sakura sighed deeply as she took a bite of her rations. Beside her Naruto was gobbling down some of his instant ramen. She was too tired to snap at him for bringing food that needed hot water to make. It was an ongoing argument between the two of them and for some reason Sakura always seemed to lose. Maybe she was just being too soft on him.

And of course when she took the ramen away he'd give her those puppy dog eyes that he knew she couldn't resist. So she just took another bite of her food and waited for Naruto and Kakashi to finish theirs.

"Sakura, do you still have the item with Sasuke's scent on it?" Kakashi asked casually, standing up from where he'd been sitting and eating with Naruto.

Sakura nodded curtly. "Hai."

"Can I see it?"

"I'll give it to Pakkun and the others to smell." Sakura murmured, locking eyes with her once sensei. They shared a glance that Naruto was completely oblivious to before Kakashi sighed and nodded.

He bit his thumb, going through the hand signs before he slammed his hand onto the ground.

"What is it this time Kakashi?" Pakkun asked. "You haven't summoned us for a very long while."

"We're getting teme back, Pakkun!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin.

"The Uchiha?" Pakkun blinked a few times. "Very well. I suppose you want us to track his scent Kakashi?"

Kakashi nodded. "Sakura has something you can take the scent from."

Pakkun and the other dogs huddled around the pink-haired kunoichi, blocking the item she was holding out to them from view. Both Kakashi and Naruto wondered what it was that Sakura was being so protective over but they knew better then to ask.

Sakura tucked the precious item back into her pack as soon as the dogs finished. They were all sniffing the air, noses twitching as they cocked their heads to the side.

"Anything yet Pakkun?" Naruto began to get impatient as he finished his ramen.

Pakkun nodded. "It's very difficult to distinguish his scent though. There are three others with him and they are proving to be difficult."

"Why?" Naruto's brow furrowed.

"It seems each of them smells like Sasuke." Pakkun grunted. "So there are four little Uchiha's running ahead of us in the forest."

"He knows someone is after him." Sakura concluded. "Very well, we will merely need to split up and whittle down Sasuke's teammates." The way she said 'whittle down' made Naruto and Kakashi inwardly blanch.

"But Sakura-chan, we work best as a team. I mean, they're strong so we shouldn't just jump into battle."

Sakura turned to look at Naruto with a frown. "Then don't jump into battle Naruto. Just see if the one you are following is Sasuke and if it isn't then leave and follow the last target."

"Last target?"

Kakashi nodded this time, seeing Sakura's patience running thin. "Naruto, there are three of us. That means one of _them_ will be free to escape. So as soon as you find out who your opponent is you should leave if it isn't Sasuke. We aren't here to fight with his team, just bring him back."

Naruto nodded, understanding now. "But what if they do attack me?"

"Then for god's sake Naruto fight back." Sakura sighed. "You can't just try and outrun them. If you do and find Sasuke then you'll have two enemies to deal with."

"Alright, let's decide right now who we're going to track." Kakashi announced as he gave a small sigh. "I'm getting too old for these types of missions."

"But Kakashi-sensei…we don't even know that much about his teammates. I mean, we didn't get to fight them like we had wanted to so we don't know much about their abilities."

"I do."

Kakashi and Naruto both turned to her. She gave a small smirk, one that didn't fit on her gentle face. "Some Sound-nin I was interrogating told me everything when he broke. I have enough information for us to go on."

* * *

Naruto whipped through the trees, a bit frustrated with the situation. He didn't like the fact that Pakkun couldn't just tell them which one was Sasuke, he didn't like the fact that he was still hungry because he couldn't finish his ramen, and he definitely didn't like the fact that they'd split up!  
He hoped that the one he was going after really was Sasuke. For one, he didn't want to waste time fighting one of the idiots of his team even if Sakura HAD given them information on the members. Two: he really didn't want Sakura to meet up with Sasuke first.

He had a feeling Sakura might just break her promise to not try and kill him. And that scared him more than anything. For once, Naruto realized, he was the mediator. He realized that he wasn't going to be the one bashing Sasuke's head into the ground to make him understand that his teammates loved him and he had to come home.

No, he was just there to keep Sakura and Sasuke from killing each other.

And that scared him more than anything.

* * *

Kakashi followed Pakkun, both eyes alert. He'd tilted his headband back up so that his Sharingan was visible. He knew he'd need it for this fight. Especially if he got to Sasuke first.

Sasuke had killed Orochimaru. He was a force to be reckoned with now. It made Kakashi sad, really, when he thought about it. Sasuke had held so much promise. But just like his brother, his search for power had been his downfall.

He wondered if Naruto realized yet that even if they did bring Sasuke back, he'd be different. He wasn't going to be the brooding little boy that always found just the right words to say to piss Naruto off and get the two into a fight.

Of course, Kakashi didn't even know if Sasuke would be able to go back to being a shinobi at all. After all he'd done—and things Kakashi knew he'd done that they didn't know about yet—it would be surprising if Tsunade didn't sentence him to a life of prison the moment he stepped foot in the village.

But Tsunade would give him a fair trial, whether he deserved one or not. And that annoyed Kakashi a little too, even though he didn't want to admit it. He was angry with Sasuke for all he'd done—a childish, immature anger that Kakashi had thought he'd grown out of.

Kakashi had treated Sasuke like a son.

A small something stirred in Kakashi's stomach as he remembered that even before the trial, Sasuke would be interrogated. And Sakura was going to be his interrogator. Kakashi had wondered a bit at the fact that Ibiki was assigning her to do it. That was until he'd gone and talked with Ibiki and Anko about Sakura's progress as an interrogator.

Apparently she had inherited Ibiki's knack for getting information out of shinobi without physical pain for the most part. Of course Kakashi had always known Sakura was good at talking to people. And being a medic she'd been trained to find a person's weakness as quickly as possible and use it to her advantage.

And if her mental abilities didn't work, she apparently had a nasty way of inflicting pain. I guess it came with the territory of being a medic-nin. Besides that, she could heal her victim before starting again. They lasted longer that way.

It gave Kakashi the shivers just thinking about it. He pitied anyone who defected from the village. But he pitied Sasuke more than anyone. Sakura had taken her job as an interrogation shinobi for this purpose and this purpose only. She wanted to be the one to break Sasuke. Maybe it was because she wanted to prove to him that she was stronger, that she had succeeded.

Whatever the reason, Kakashi didn't want to think about it. He had to stay focused on the task at hand. His eyes widened slightly as he felt the presence that he was coming upon quickly.

"Smells like him." Pakkun grunted. "But then again, so did the other three. We're almost on 'em."

"Right. Just stay out of the way Pakkun, in case there's a fight. I'll need you to track the other shinobi if it's not Sasuke."

"Got it." Pakkun agreed as they slowed down, masking their chakra.

Kakashi looked out into the clearing, not seeing anything at all. His eyes narrowed as he tried to sense any chakra.

"Che. And here I thought the copy ninja was supposed to be one of the best." Came an amused voice from behind him. "I guess even _you_ are subject to _my_ chakra sensing abilities."

* * *

Sakura landed on the branch, eyes narrowed. One of the dogs had told her that they were only a little way away from the shinobi that smelled like Sasuke. She was sick and tired of this little game Sasuke was playing. Whether he ran or not she'd catch him. He was just wasting both of their time.

"Do you sense any—" Sakura stopped talking to the dog as she leapt backwards just in time. She landed on a branch of the tree beside the one she'd been previously standing on. It was a good thing, because her previous perch had just been cut in half.

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she pulled out a kunai.

"Come on pinky, don't make this any more difficult then you have to."

Sakura snorted. "Get the hell out of my way Suigetsu. I don't have time for this."

His eyes widened a little as he raised an eyebrow. "You know my name, eh Pinky?" His eyes narrowed as if he was deep in thought, and then a small smirk spread across his face.

"Now I remember…you're the little girl from Sasuke's old team in Konoha. I didn't recognize you without your large forehead."

"With that sword, I thought you were going to be a threat. But then I realized you weren't Zabuza. Mores the pity. I was hoping his ghost had come back to get revenge. That way, this fight could have been interesting." Sakura taunted back with her own smirk.

Suigetsu's smile widened. "I like you pinky. I can tell you're going to be an interesting opponent."

"Che." Sakura scoffed. "Just get out of my way already. I don't really want to fight you if I don't have to. It's your decision whether or not you die today."

His eyes narrowed again. "Rather arrogant aren't we, pinky?"

"Merely confident."

"I'll love breaking you then." Suigetsu laughed as he unsheathed his sword.

Sakura got into a fighting position. _I really don't have time for this. I'll waste too much chakra if I have to fight him and then Sasuke will have an advantage. I'll just have to use as little chakra as possible._

Sakura jumped to the right, swinging herself up higher on one of the branches as she dodged Suigetsu's sword slash. She was glad she'd cut her hair. Otherwise several pink strands would be falling to the forest floor right now.

She merely got ready to dodge another one of his attacks as she racked her brain for a strategy.

* * *

"Sasuke was so smart to realize you were after him. He's the one that thought we should all take his scent since you'd probably have your dogs." Karin laughed as she dodged Kakashi's kick, lashing back with one of her own that he dodged easily.

"I wish I'd been able to fight the pink-haired bitch. Then I could have rubbed it in her face that Sasuke is mine, not her's." Karin's eyes narrowed as she noticed that Kakashi wasn't getting angered with her words. He kept cool, punching and kicking as she dodged and did the same.

_**"Karin is the female member of team Hebi. She apparently has the ability to track chakra from long distances and locate a specific person's chakra easily."**_

Kakashi dodged the kunai Karin threw at him with a small sigh. "I don't think you'd want to mention Sasuke to Sakura if you had fought her. She would have just killed you."

Karin's eyes narrowed. "We shall see."

_**"Apparently she was one of Orochimaru's trusted subordinates. Although the man I tortured told me about her ability he couldn't tell me anything more about her fighting style. He apparently hadn't seen or heard of her fighting anyone."**_

_Well that's just great. _Kakashi grumbled to himself as he began rapid hand signs. That was when the water from the nearby stream shot at Karin in the shape of a thousand small dragons.

He heard her give a gasp of surprise as she leapt backwards. But he noticed the small smirk on her face and it annoyed him.

She laughed at the way his eyes narrowed. "Don't you see, Kakashi? I can sense what type of jutsu you're going to use."

* * *

Naruto growled deep in his throat as Jugo came rushing at him. He really didn't want to kill the guy after what Sakura had told him. But he was getting on Naruto's nerves.

_**"Jugo is mentally unstable. A small part of him apparently still believes that he's innocent and doesn't want to kill anyone. If you fight him, try and appeal to that side before the other one takes over."**_

Sakura's words were a little frightening. He didn't want to see the other side of Jugo. Unfortunately, he was seeing it now. He had to calm him down like Sakura had said. Had to calm him down…

"Listen, I don't want to fight you. I'm not here to hurt Sasuke, alright?" Naruto tried, clutching at straws as he leapt backwards. He had already been warned by Tsunade that he shouldn't resort to using the kyuubi's power. If he did, he'd end up killing someone like he'd almost done to Sakura…

And there was no one here to restrain him once he got into that stage either.

Jugo's eyes flashed but he continued trying to attack Naruto. "Liar! You wish to kill Sasuke-sama."

Naruto shook his head. "No, Sasuke was my friend. He still is my friend. I don't want to kill him." He hoped Jugo could hear the truth behind his words.

Jugo stopped for a moment, and Naruto noticed that he was muttering to himself, as if having an argument. Then he looked back up at Naruto with eyes narrowed and his arm turned into a blade.

_Dammit!_ Naruto growled as he barely dodged the large blade. He flipped back so he wasn't in the way of Jugo's blade arm as he lunged passed him.

_**"He can transform his arm at will, so be careful. Apparently Orochimaru gained all of his information on creating the curse seal from Jugo's unique…condition. Stay as calm as possible and don't show any hostility. If you fight back you'll never get him to become calm again. Just dodge and hope you can talk him out of it."**_

_This will take forever!_Naruto whined to himself as he forced himself not to draw a kunai. That would end in disaster, and then he'd have to fight the guy with whatever the hell his 'condition' was.

Naruto didn't really want to find out.

* * *

Sakura slammed her fist into his stomach, growling as it shot through his watery form and she was forced off balance. She quickly rolled to the side as his sword came down, pushing herself off of the ground as another slash lodged his sword into the tree behind her.

"You're pretty quick, pinky."

Sakura made no comment as she threw three kunai at him. He laughed as they came near, until he saw the exploding tags attached to them. Sakura jumped down to the forest floor as the explosion hit and she felt the heat roll off of her in waves.

She landed expertly on the ground, waiting as silence consumed the forest after the explosion. She didn't feel his chakra signature anywhere. She ignored the annoying cuts on her arms and right thigh from his sword. They stung, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She wasn't going to waste chakra by healing them, however. They were merely superficial and wouldn't bleed heavily if she tied them.

So she bent down and began bandaging her wounds quickly. She needed to go and get Sasuke as soon as possible. One of the dogs jumped down beside her. "Can you sense the last chakra signature?"

The dog was about to answer when a sword slammed down, cutting it in half as it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"We haven't finished our fight, pinky."

Sakura gave a grunt as she moved to the side as he swung his sword again. Only this time she wasn't fast enough as it cleaved her in half and a wide smile came across Suigetsu's face.

That was until the form of Sakura that he'd cut in half melted into a strangely colored liquid that splashed across Suigetsu's sword and body. He wrinkled his nose at the smell.

"What the hell is this?" He questioned as Sakura appeared on a limb above him. "It's not water or mud."

Sakura smirked. "It's my specialty. You'll be the first person I've ever used it on, you should feel flattered."

_Sakura gave a groan as she rolled away from Anko's attack. Anko sighed. "Haruno, we've gone over this before. You need to use clones more often."_

_Sakura shrugged. "I don't know any clone jutsu except substitution and henge."_

_"Why not?"_

_Sakura shrugged. "The only clones I've seen are very complicated but also very common and I don't have the chakra reserves to waste any unnecessary chakra on shadow clones in battle."_

_"What about water clones?"_

_"Like I said, too common. And clones are useless if you don't have a plan to go along with them. A water clone can be spotted a mile away by someone who knows what to look for." Sakura commented as Anko sat on the ground beside her. _

_"What's your element?"_

_Sakura shrugged. "I never did that little card test. I decided it would be best if I worked with all of the elements and strengthened my abilities that way. If I only specialize in one element of ninjutsu then I'll be screwed when I battle someone who has a jutsu that goes specifically against the element I'm using."_

_"Well, if we make a clone that goes best with your element then it won't take as much chakra." Anko added. _

_"Oh alright. I already know what my element is, even without that card test." Sakura murmured. "Fire jutsu come to me the easiest."_

_"Are you sure it isn't because you study those the most since they're Sasuke's signature moves?"_

_"No."_

_Anko heard the curt tone and decided to ignore it as she grinned. "Alright Haruno, then let's think of a clone for you, since you're so obsessed with making one that's your own."_

_Sakura looked down at her hand, then at the wire Anko had used to attack Sakura with her flames. "…I think I've just thought of one, Anko."_

Sakura began rapid hand signs as Suigetsu stared up at her. He laughed when he noticed what she was going to do. "Listen pinky, I can just change myself into water. Unless you're planning on trying to evaporate me to death it isn't going to work."

Sakura smiled, "Alone this jutsu probably couldn't kill you because of your abilities, but when combined with my clone well…" Sakura breathed in deeply as flames shot from her mouth towards Suigetsu.

Suigetsu turned into water as he dodged flame. He grinned—before he frowned slightly as the flames rippled in the air, shooting towards him once more. He didn't move this time as he grinned, letting his body become water.

Sakura smirked at the idiocy of his move. "Suigetsu, you wanted to know what my clone was made of, ne?"

There was a moment of silence as Suigetsu watched the flames come towards him, a smirk still on his face.

"Oil."

Suigetsu's eyes widened as the flames surrounded him and he realized that he had underestimated the pink-haired kunoichi standing above him, wreathed in the flames that were consuming his body, making him steam and hiss.

Sakura watched as the flames erupted from inside of him, the heat making the oil he'd unconsciously taken into his body finally activating thanks to the fire. She clenched her hands as she watched, not taking her eyes away from the grisly scene as he became solid once more, growling out in pain. He was rolling on the ground, trying to bat the flames with the earth.

_Don't just watch him die like that! Do something!_

She watched.

_You can't just leave him!_

_I have to get to Sasuke now._

The smell of burning flesh should have made her nauseas but it didn't. She merely began rapid hand signs, watching as the wet mud from her jutsu surrounded Suigetsu and doused the flames. She hoped the twelve-year-old Sakura would be quiet now. She was getting sick and tired of her. She wasn't weak like that anymore and she needed to stop thinking such immature weak thoughts.

She jumped down and checked his vital signs, noticing that he was still alive. She injected some of her chakra into him, a sedative so that he wouldn't awaken until she came back to get him. Of course, he wouldn't be able to move even if he wanted to.

She felt a twinge of guilt at what she'd done but she pushed it down like she always did. _A shinobi is a shinobi and an enemy is an enemy and death is death. There is nothing that can be said to make it anything more than it is. _She murmured to herself as she looked to the last remaining dog, sitting on the limb above her, whining softly at the scene he'd witnessed. She shrugged it off.

"Take me to Uchiha Sasuke." She whispered, and the dog merely nodded, jumping into the woods as Sakura followed after him.

* * *

Kakashi breathed in deeply, chest heaving as he tied the unconscious woman's hands behind her back in a way that would make it impossible to try any hand signs. Her hair covered her face but he could see the way the dry blood was clumping together and making it stick.

He hated the fact that he'd had to use that jutsu on the poor girl, but she had been becoming a rather annoying opponent. Her chakra sense was amazing and it had been difficult for him to perform any jutsu without her countering it with another or running from it.

But here they stood—or rather he stood as he placed her body on the ground. He knew that Tsunade wanted them all brought back alive—especially since they had yet to make their bargain with Sasuke.

Kakashi didn't like the small contract Tsunade was willing to have them sign but he knew that it was the only thing they could do to get him to come back willingly. And that was a long shot.

Kakashi needed to get Sakura to this young woman as soon as possible. She'd need medical attention before they headed back to Konoha. He'd wrapped the wound on her side as well as he could but he was no medic-nin so it was merely keeping her from losing any more blood, nothing else.

"Alright Pakkun, let's go find Sasuke shall we?"

Pakkun snorted. "I think someone's already found him Kakashi."

"Oh?"

"You won't like to know who it is." Pakkun muttered as they continued zipping through the trees. No, Kakashi didn't think he would.

* * *

"Dammit! I don't want to fight you!" Naruto exclaimed for the thousandth time. He was tired of dodging and running. Sakura's tactic of fighting Jugo wasn't working!  
"Sasuke is my friend. I came here to take him back to Konona—where his other friends are." Naruto knew that was a bit of a lie but he wasn't going to tell Jugo that. "And…and we want you guys to come back to Konoha with us too."

Jugo blinked. "…what?"

Naruto nodded, smiling. "You see, we want you to come back to Konoha and—" Once again Naruto had to dodge a blow as the peaceful Jugo gave into the animalistic one that Sakura had warned him about.

_I have to get to Sasuke…I'll just have to fight him. I'm not Sakura, I can't talk him out of this like she could. Dammit._

Naruto breathed in deeply, focusing his chakra as he opened himself up to the Kyuubi. _Just two tails. I can handle two tails…_

* * *

Sakura knew he was there before she landed on the ground. She could feel him. His back was to her and all she could see was the Uchiha symbol upon his back. She ignored the urge to rip it off. At the moment he didn't deserve to even be wearing it. How could he say that he was a respectful member of the Uchiha Clan when he was being just like his brother?

He didn't turn to look at her and she didn't really expect him to. She watched his hair drift in the slight breeze—watched his sleeves ripple. The sword on his back seemed to have been put there just to intimidate her—to leer at her like some old enemy who hadn't been satisfied with their last encounter.

But Sakura would not be intimidated. She merely ignored the small part of her that had looked forward to this moment for so long. That annoying part of her that was searching and hoping for some reassurance that she still loved him.

She merely watched him, jade eyes faded and tired. She had no time for love. This was her mission and she would fulfill it.

"Sakura."

She felt her throat constrict at the sound of her name on his lips but she merely swallowed to wet it. She knew he was expecting an answer. He had yet to turn to her.

…

…

…

"Uchiha."

* * *

**(A/N: Yay! The battle is in the next chapter! I know that for me, this is going by very quickly, but as I said before, most of the story deals with after team seven brings Sasuke back to Konoha. So…yeah. Ugh, I know the fight scenes between team seven and Hebi were horrible (even for me) I wasn't putting much effort into them I guess. Besides that, I haven't really seen how Hebi fight so I didn't want to do anything wrong.**

**I really wanted Sakura to use her cool clones though so that's why she fought Suigetsu instead of Karin. Don't worry. Sakura and Karin will have their own confrontation soon enough…hehehehe…**

**Well, I hope you guys liked the chapter. The next one will be better—and more angsty. **

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka**

**Pick-up line: Do you like strawberries or blueberries better? I just want to know what to put in your pancakes tomorrow morning... (If some guy said that to me…geeze. I wouldn't know whether to throw up or laugh in his face))**


	5. Chapter 4: Absence

**(A\N: I am very sorry for the delay in updates. Once again, I've been attacked by a virus. But everything should be ok now...I hope. Well, here's the fighting scene everyone's been waiting for. ENJOY!)**

**Chapter 4**

**Absence**

"Sakura."

…

…

…

"Uchiha."

* * *

"Why are you here Sakura?" He scoffed, finally turning around to look at her. For a second Sakura's breath caught at the sight of him. He was just as handsome as before—maybe more so. She wondered what she looked like to him. And then she realized that she didn't care. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that she brought him back to Konoha.

She didn't meet his eyes completely—instead she rested her gaze on the firm line of his jaw. She wouldn't allow herself to be caught up in his Sharingan. She wasn't an idiot.

"Konoha wants to make a bargain with you, Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura began in monotone. She had gotten over her initial shock at seeing him. She was a little disappointed at the fact that her stomach didn't flutter at the sight of him but she was also glad. At least her attraction for him wouldn't complicate things.

"Oh?"

She heard the cold amusement in his voice as well as a twinge of annoyance.

"If you return to Konohagakure willingly you will be allowed to maintain your status as a shinobi and your teammates may live as well." Sakura answered back.

"Hn." He snorted derisively. "Are you sure you are not making promises that the Hokage doesn't know anything about, Sakura?"

It was Sakura's turn to give a cold laugh. "If it was up to me, you wouldn't be getting this second chance at all." Sakura remembered her argument with Tsunade over the issue—and how she'd lost the fight. She twirled a kunai on her finger. "I take it you're going to decline Konoha's offer?"

"Whatever gave you that idea, Sakura?" Sasuke's voice dripped sarcasm.

Sakura gave a dry smile. "Good. I was hoping you'd say no."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at that. "Why?"

He heard her give another dark laugh.

"Now I get to kick your ass."

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly at her words. He'd never heard her use that tone before. Then again, she had yet to call him Sasuke-kun either. She looked different as well. She'd cut her hair extremely short, about the same length as his. It suited her, strangely. He'd taken all of this in the moment she'd entered the clearing but had brushed it aside. It meant little to nothing after all.

"Run home Sakura, before I kill you."

He heard a soft laugh from behind him. "I'd say the same for you, but you don't have a home to run back to anymore."

Sakura slammed her kunai into his back, slicing through his spinal chord. She gave a small growl as he disappeared with a puff of smoke.

"Better, Sakura, but not good enough." He murmured softly from behind her. This time it was Sasuke who sliced through Sakura's lithe form. He gave a soft snort as two halves of the small log dropped to the forest floor.

He looked around the clearing for any trace of Sakura's pink hair. He heard the sound of twigs snapping and he threw a kunai in the direction, crouching down into a battle stance.

His eyes widened for a fraction of a second as he saw a flash of yellow and realized his mistake—just as Sakura's knee connected with his stomach. He let out a soft grunt as he flew across the clearing, flipping in the air and landing nimbly on his feet.

"Sasuke…" Naruto ground out from where he stood at the edge of the clearing, breathing in deeply. He was covered in cuts that were slowly healing themselves, his red eyes fading back to their soft ocean blue.

Kakashi gave a soft sigh as he landed on a tree branch above Naruto. He had been hoping he or Naruto would have found Sasuke first. Now it seemed as if the long-awaited confrontation and battle between his female student and Sasuke would finally commence.

"And here I'd thought your Hokage was a bit weak in the head for only sending a pathetic little medic to fight me. But she seems to have proven to be a bit smarter then I had thought. She sent you two, after all." Sasuke smirked at Naruto and Kakashi. "But I will not return to Konoha, no matter how much you beg Naruto. It's pointless."

"We came to drag your ass back to Konoha whether you want us to or not." Naruto's grin was feral. "And I'm going to prove to you this time that I'm stronger."

"No."

Everyone froze as they turned to look at Sakura. She merely placed on her gloves with slow, deliberate movements. "He's mine, Naruto. You had your chance before. Now it's my turn."

"Sakura-chan—"

"No."

Naruto's gaze darkened, but he merely nodded.

Sasuke gave a derisive laugh. "Following behind the weakest kunoichi of Konoha like a lapdog, eh Naruto?"

"You have no idea how strong she's—" Naruto stopped as Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head. This was Sasuke and Sakura's fight. Not his.

"At least he hasn't stooped to licking the boots of any demented bastard who promises him some power." Sakura answered back casually, cocking her head to the side as she looked at him through narrowed eyes. "Tell me, how's that going by the way? Are you the last Uchiha yet?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously, but he let the anger slide over him. He needed to be emotionless for this battle.

"Do they follow your every order now, Sakura?" Sasuke asked as the two stood there, still staring at one another. He was slightly discomforted by the coldness in her gaze. There was no warmth, surprise, or even sadness. Nothing.

It was like looking into a mirror.

"Do you really expect me to believe that you've become strong enough to fight me, _Sakura_?" He asked, his tongue rolling over her name as if he found all of this amusing.

"No." Sakura answered back. "But then again you always were a bit dense, _Sasuke-kun_." Her voice was taunting as she spoke his name, her eyes sparkling with some kind of hidden malice. Then she slammed her hand into the ground.

* * *

The ground erupted as boulders and dust flew everywhere. Naruto couldn't see what was happening through the haze, but he heard soft gasps and grunts and saw the faint shadows of the two warring figures.

He was afraid that something was going to get out of hand and this would end in disaster. He was afraid that a mistake would be made that could never be fixed. He was afraid that someone was going to die. And he was afraid that it might be Sasuke.

_All that Sakura has trained for, everything was for this one fight. This one chance to prove to herself and to Sasuke that she has become strong. _Naruto thought as he heard more sounds of battle, including more punches and kicks from Sakura. He knew it was her because of the loud cracks the earth and trees made as they were blown apart. He silently prayed that none of those punches would hit Sasuke.

"Sasuke, why can't you just come back with us?" Naruto yelled into the dust. "We can help you find Itachi!"

Bam.

Crunch.

Bam.

"We can fight Itachi as a team!" Naruto wailed out, not liking the fact that he could do nothing this time around. "_Together_."

For once, he realized what it was like for Sakura all those years. When she had stood behind her teammates and watched their backs as they protected her.

He hated the feeling of helplessness. It made him queasy. Even when he was losing a battle, he'd always known that there were people he needed to protect and the drive had kept him going. But now…as he stood and watched with building horror, he realized why Sakura had become as she had. She'd always been the underdog.

Now she was a toughened wolf, baring its teeth and waiting to sink them into her unsuspecting victim.

The underdog was gone.

* * *

Sakura leapt backwards as Sasuke kicked, barely missing her stomach. She grabbed his ankle, whipping him around and throwing him across the clearing. He flipped in the air, landing on his feet nimbly.

Five kunai sliced through the air and he grabbed his own kunai, blocking them. He threw his own barrage of kunai and shuriken, forcing Sakura to dodge them all.

They both jumped backwards, landing on their feet at the same time.

Sasuke smirked as a rip appeared on Sakura's shirt and a red stain appeared. "Too slow."

Sakura merely smirked back. "You too."

Sasuke's eyes widened for a fraction of a second as he felt blood trickle down his neck. He lifted his hand and touched the sticky liquid. If he'd been any slower the kunai would have severed his jugular.

She was better then he'd thought. But still not good enough, of course. All it showed was that she'd spent a few extra hours at the training grounds. He put the image of her literally splitting the earth apart to the back of his mind.

"Don't play the fool, Sasuke. All three of your teammates are incapacitated. There's no one here to help you." Sakura began as they circled each other, her face an emotionless mask.

The wind whipped through the clearing, blowing Sakura's bangs into her eyes. It may have only been a few seconds but it was long enough for Sasuke to take advantage of her moment of blindness.

She gritted her teeth as his hand rammed into her stomach. She rolled across the ground, the sharp rocks on the forest floor digging into her back and cutting her shirt. She ignored the small bites of pain they left, as well as the stains appearing on her outfit as she slowly stood.

"Why haven't you used any jutsu, Sakura?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly as he walked a few steps over to where she stood.

Sakura spit on the ground a few feet in front of him, frowning. When she'd landed she'd bit her cheek on accident, something she was just going to have to live with at the moment. The truth was, after her fight with Suigetsu she'd used more chakra then she would have liked. She was going to make sure she didn't use any unnecessary jutsu.

She merely rushed forward, thrusting her fist towards his stomach. He dodged and she kicked which he twisted to the side to avoid. He was faster then she was, and his Sharingan was taking in her movements. She cursed the Uchiha clan for their kekkei genkai. It was making it very difficult for her to take him down quickly.

They continued like this for a while—as if Sasuke were humoring her for her efforts. Sakura gritted her teeth as his leg slammed into her side. She kept her balance, grabbing his leg and twisting. She heard a satisfying snap and grinned as Sasuke blanched—before he disappeared.

_Damn clones. _Sakura cursed as she jumped into the air, making a few hand signs. She was cut off from finishing them, however, as she blocked Sasuke's kick with her arm.

The two pushed away from each other once more, and Sakura ignored the bruises that throbbed all the way down her body. Not all of them were from Sasuke, but at the moment ALL of them were working to his advantage.

Sakura finished her hands signs this time, and her hand glowed bright blue before they stopped glowing at all. Sasuke's eyes narrowed at that. It was if she had tried to use a jutsu and it had failed.

Then she lunged at him, and he couldn't help but give a small smirk. She was as annoying and predictable as Naruto. Actually, more so. At this point, Naruto would probably have caused Sasuke some major damage. At least he had a signature attack that could stand up to Sasuke's Chidori.

But Sasuke didn't dwell on that too long, as he began his own hand signs, still smirking.

* * *

Kakashi's eyes widened slightly as the two met. Then Sakura was flying across the clearing, giving a small gasp. Kakashi stared at the visible, electric chakra that bristled in the air around Sasuke.

"One thousand birds current…" Kakashi whispered.

Sakura stayed where she was, lying on the ground. Kakashi could see her struggling to stand, but the electric charge from Sasuke's jutsu had stunned her.

"You're dead, Sakura. Give up now before I kill you." Sasuke spoke coldly. "You cannot get up before I have a chance to strike."

Sakura gave a soft laugh from where she struggled to sit up. Her body shook as she forced it up halfway. "I'm not finished yet, Sasuke. I haven't showed you yet…I haven't fulfilled my promise…"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly. "What are you talking about?"

"I promised Naruto…I promised him that I would bring you back to Konoha." Sakura met his eyes levelly, and Sasuke was surprised at that. It was if she were not afraid of the effects of his Sharingan.

"And I have not fulfilled my promise to myself to become strong."

"If you continue then I will kill you." Sasuke answered back simply, as he made to draw his sword.

His eyes widened slightly as his leg went out from under him and he staggered to his knees. "…what…?"

Sakura gave a soft laugh as she lifted a shaking hand to her arm, her fingers glowing a soft green. She pressed them to her skin, and her shaking began to stop. "You didn't see it, even with your _glorious_ Sharingan?"

"See what?" Naruto questioned, looking from one to the other.

"You didn't touch me." Sasuke replied. "How could you have done this to me?" He once again tried to move an arm and one of his legs shifted.

"I didn't have to touch you Sasuke. Your jutsu did the work for me." Sakura's cold eyes bore into him as her lips tilted into a sardonic smile. "In a way that even your Sharingan could not see it."

_I thought that jutsu was known only by Tsunade. And for Sakura to have used it in such a way…_Kakashi felt his pride in his female student grow. _You may not have a special kekkei genkai or a demon Sakura, but you're smart. Smarter then any of your year mates—smarter then most of the Chûnin and Jônin for that matter. _

"I used the special jutsu that Tsunade taught me, Sasuke. It sends a current into your body, disrupting the nerve signals between the rest of your body and your brain. Right now your body is trying to move without the brain for direction." Sakura placed a green glowing hand to her leg, then stood slowly.

"Because the jutsu is merely a charge of electricity, I distorted a part of your one thousand birds current to send the charge into your body. The electricity from your jutsu also amplified the effect. And you are no medical shinobi like Kabuto. You won't find an easy way out of this one." Sakura hissed as she stood in front of him.

She pulled out a medical scalpel, flipping it over in her hands. "I gave you the chance that Tsunade asked me to give. You denied it. Therefore, Sasuke Uchiha, it is my duty to eliminate a threat to Konohagakure."

"SAKURA!" Naruto yelled out desperately. "You can't! You—you…" He began weakly, as Kakashi held him back. He didn't understand what was happening. Why would Sakura kill Sasuke? And why was Kakashi stopping Naruto from stopping her?

"It's her mission, Naruto." Kakashi murmured as he held the boy's arms. "I'm sorry."

"I know Naruto…" Sakura whispered as she gripped the scalpel tighter. "I promised…" Then she jammed the scalpel into Sasuke's shoulder. He gave a soft growl—before he melted into the ground, becoming a muddy puddle.

Sakura's eyes widened slightly, as she heard him from behind her.

"You should have gone for the killing strike instead of hitting me in the shoulder. If you hadn't been so caught up in your desire to keep me alive you may have been able to harm me."

Sakura gritted her teeth. "You knew…from the very beginning."

"Since you met my eyes."

"I see." Sakura nodded, feeling the cold steel against her neck. Sasuke's sword. "And you put me under a genjutsu. And Kakashi and Naruto to, by the looks of it."

"You've all been under a genjutsu since the beginning." Sasuke answered back truthfully, a smug tone to his voice. "Now Sakura…you have annoyed me for the last time."

The blade slid across her neck effortlessly. The warm liquid stained his blade and the ground beneath them as he heard her gurgle, before her dead weight slumped against him.

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled as he watched her fall. "SAKURA!"

Sasuke gave a sigh as he let the body hit the ground. He ignored the small twinge at his conscience. He couldn't afford to have emotional attachments to anyone anymore.

"It's rather sad, actually." Came a soft voice from behind him, as a sharp pain erupted from his side. "The fact that you had to use your eyes to cast the genjutsu. Did you know that Itachi can do it with a flick of his fingers? He did so when he fought Naruto, Kakashi, and I."

Sasuke gave a growl as he ripped the small blade from his side, jumping back. He turned to face Sakura once more. "How long did you know I had placed the genjutsu."

"From the very beginning." Sakura answered back nonchalantly. "You seem to forget that I trained with Kakashi and his Sharingan. I can tell when someone is about to use a genjutsu through it. And by the way." She gave a small smirk. "I _was_ the genjutsu genius, wasn't I? You think you could fool me with that?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as it suddenly hit him. She was good. She had become stronger. She had become a shinobi worthy of fighting him. Perhaps one day she would have become strong enough to be a legend like Kakashi or her shishou Tsunade. But unfortunately for her, Sasuke would not give her that chance.

Suddenly Sakura disappeared in a flurry of cherry blossom petals. Sasuke blinked as he looked around.

"I told you that I was the genjutsu wielder of our team. We all knew I could spot them easier then you or Naruto."

Her voice seemed to come from everywhere and yet nowhere at all.

"But I guess you didn't know that I can use genjutsu just as well—perhaps better then I can sense and release them."

Sasuke's crimson eyes narrowed.

"That's right. You've been in a genjutsu from the moment your eyes met _mine_, Sasuke."

_Clever._ Sasuke thought with a smirk, as he released the genjutsu. He blinked as nothing changed.

"What is this?" He hissed.

He heard her voice reverberating from around the trees, swirling in the soft wind around him. Wind that seemed to be constricting and tightening, holding him in place.

"Haven't you ever heard of a layered genjutsu, Sasuke?"

"Found you." Sasuke whispered as he slammed his sword forward. Sakura's surprised form appeared, skewered by the sword. Then it turned into a log and Sakura's chilling, scathing laughter filled the air.

"You can't track my voice with your ears. And you can't track my movements with your Sharingan. Tell me, what will you do now?"

Sasuke gave a soft grunt as he closed his eyes and sheathed his sword, body relaxing. Sakura watched him warily. He seemed to stay that way for a moment—before his eyes shot open and chakra burst from his hand as he shattered the genjutsu.

Sakura gasped as she saw the Chidori shrieking in his hand. It was filled with more chakra and power then any of the Chidori he'd ever used before—stronger then Kakashi's.

Sakura knew what she had to do, as she saw the way the power of his move was draining him. She had to withstand this attack. Then…then she could do it. She could win.

She gathered her own chakra into her hand, glowing blue.

They charged, and jade and crimson clashed.

* * *

Naruto held his breath as dust flew past them, the wind sending branches and small rocks hurtling past himself and Kakashi, who was watching the fight unfold with an impassive gaze.

_What if he killed her? _

_…what if she killed _him

_Sakura doesn't know any jutsu that can defeat Chidori. She doesn't have an jutsu like my Rasengan._

_…oh god Sakura…please be ok._

And then the dust settled.

They stood, hands locked. The chakra was gone, and they were both heaving, staring at one another. Sasuke's eyes were wide, Sakura's were dull with pain. Blood flowed steadily to the ground from where their fingers were entwined.

It was the only time Kakashi had ever seen the two look so…right together. Even locked in battle, he could see it, the emotions warring within them, their hands clasped tightly. It was almost as if they didn't want to let go for fear of what would come next.

Sakura's hand was charred and burnt, and the blood was coming from her. Both of them were almost completely out of chakra. Kakashi could see it in the way they used their hands to hold themselves up, pressing against the other for support. Even as enemies, all they ever did was support the other. As if even in this battle they were both remembering what it was like to be Genin. To be a team.

_Even with my healing chakra in my hand I sustained heavy damage…_Sakura whispered to herself. _And I have no chakra left. None. I couldn't heal a paper cut._

She just hoped he was as drained as she was. She knew that Chidori had taken much of his chakra—too much.

"Sakura."

…

…

…

"Sasuke."

There was no 'kun' added to Sasuke's name. There was no condescending tone added to Sakura's. Sakura knew what it meant and so did Sasuke. They were, as of this small moment, this split second in time, what both of them had wanted as genin. Sakura had wanted Sasuke's acceptance. Sasuke hadn't wanted Sakura's affection.

_Congratulations…_Kakashi thought almost bitterly. _You've both gotten what you wanted._

Then the second was gone as their hands parted, and Naruto swore he saw their fingertips brush a second after they let go, but he knew he was imagining it. Each took a few shaky steps back. Naruto could tell Sakura was beat. And he could tell that so was Sasuke. Sakura had done it. She'd fought and held her own against Sasuke Uchiha.

"I guess this means we're even." Sakura whispered.

Sasuke merely smirked. "No. We aren't."

He began rapid hand signs, breathing in deeply before he shot fire from his mouth towards Sakura. Sakura put up her hands as the fire consumed her, too tired to fight it anymore. Too tired to dodge.

Sasuke felt something drop in his stomach as he watched her body plummet to the ground, smoking and charred. He pushed the feeling aside, ignoring it. He couldn't afford to have feelings for any of his old teammates. They were nothing to him anymore.

"Sakura-chan!" He heard Naruto yell out. He heard the tears in his voice, the overwhelming pain and it irked him. He didn't know why. Was it the bond that Sakura and Naruto had held, the fact that Naruto looked hopeless and lost?

Sasuke sighed. "How pathetic. You're still annoying, Sakura."

"You too, Sasuke." Sakura whispered from behind him, pulling something out of her pack and slipping it around his neck. Sasuke let out a choked grunt as the strange object began cutting off his air passageway.

"Is this what it has come to, Sasuke?" He heard her whisper in his ear as he finally looked down and recognized what she was strangling him with.

His old Konoha headband.

The slash across the gleaming metal symbol jumped out at him, mocking him. He let out another gasp as he fell to his knees. Her grip was adamant, and the headband tightened around his neck.

"Don't make me do this, Sasuke. Come back."

"I…won't." Sasuke bit out. "Not until I kill my brother."

"You're hopeless Sasuke."

"What would you know?" Sasuke hissed. "He killed my entire family!"

"Naruto never knew his parents Sasuke. Think of how he must have felt." Sakura answered back.

Sasuke continued to struggle against her as the headband dug into his neck. "Exactly! Naruto didn't know a parent's love. All he knew was loneliness. He doesn't know what it feels like to—"

"This isn't a damn contest over who had the most screwed up childhood, Sasuke." Sakura said acidly, tightening her hold.

"I won't go back. I won't let you ruin my chances of killing my brother!" He growled.

He heard her give a soft, harsh laugh.

"Yeah? Well karma's a bitch." And then he fell unconscious from lack of oxygen.

And Sakura watched his body relax beneath her's, and she gave a small sigh, closing her eyes and slumping down onto the earth beside him.

_Tell me Sasuke…did you finally see me like I wanted you to?_

_I beat you. I defeated Sasuke Uchiha…just like I wanted to my entire life. To show you how strong I had become. _

_…why do I still feel like screaming inside?_

And then she was overcome by darkness.

* * *

**(A\N: I hope you all liked it. I had fun with this chapter. I was really tempted to just have Sakura kick his ass from the beginning but I felt it was more emotional to have them as equals, because that's the most realistic path I suppose. **

**Well, the next chapter will definitely be interesting. I'm so excited, because my favorite part is coming up. The interrogation. Not to mention a confrontation between Sakura and Karin. Yes, the next chapter will make me warm and fuzzy inside.**

**Well, see ya!  
Pick-up Line: I may not be Fred Flintstone but I can make your bed rock!)**


	6. Chapter 5: Hangover

**Chapter 5**

**Hangover**

Sakura breathed in deeply, looking down at her glass of sake. She felt the cup shaking, but she ignored it. She never lost her cool anymore. What was going on? She seemed emotionless. More so than before. It was a strange feeling. To be dead while still breathing.

She wondered how long she had been sitting there. The bar was quiet now. Most of the inhabitants were gone. Sakura vaguely sensed a couple talking in the corner. She and the bartender were the only other people inside.

She swirled the cup, watching the sake rippled at the movement. As she continued to watch it, it seemed to turn crimson and thick. She smelled the blood and death around her and it made her sick. She felt as if she were going to throw up.

_All this blood…it will never leave me. And what did it get me in return?_

_…the one thing I always wanted, I suppose._

She had never gotten drunk before. It was a hollow feeling, strange in itself. She had been told that drinking alcohol would make her feel better. She had never had more than one drink in a single sitting. However, she could not remember how many times the bartender had refilled her cup _now_.

She stared at the liquid as it sloshed against the side of the glass. The ice cubes had melted as she had continued to watch the cup.

_I did it…and I don't feel any different._

_No, I _do_ feel different…_

_…emptier…_

She no longer cried. She didn't believe she could any longer. Long ago, when she had been a child, crying had come easy to her. Now…she had cut herself off from useless emotions. Sadness was one of them.

_You turned me into a true shinobi Sasuke…_

_…you should feel honored._

Sakura let out a small, rueful laugh as she closed her eyes. She gave a small sigh as she looked down at the glass once more. She heard the door open, and someone walk inside. Two people.

Tsunade sat down on her right, ordering herself a drink. Sakura's sensei, the Gondaime Hokage was a formidable woman. But her gaze was troubled. She tried not to let it show as she waited for her drink.

The second person was Ibiki. It was strange, to even think of him as someone to come into a bar. He rarely did. He was Sakura's sensei as well.

Sakura gripped her cup tightly.

"Sakura-chan?" That was Tsunade. Ibiki never called her Sakura-chan.

"Haruno?" _That_ was Ibiki. Always with the last name. Even when she had been younger.

"Hm?" It was a small grunt issued between closed lips and clenched teeth, as she continued to stare down at the glass. Still crimson.

"How are you feeling?" Tsunade whispered.

Sakura's hand gripped her cup tightly, but she loosened her grip immediately. She continued to watch the sake in the cup. "Drunk." She picked up the cup and took a small sip.

"You aren't even old enough to drink, Sakura." Tsunade commented.

"That never stopped _you_." Sakura shrugged.

"The members of team Hebi are healing nicely. They'll be ready for their interrogation soon." Ibiki spoke in that cold voice of his.

"That's nice." Sakura whispered. Why did she feel even colder now? Shouldn't she be happy that Sasuke was back in Konoha?

_No._

_Your job is not yet finished._

"You will be the one to instigate the interrogations of one of his comrades as well. Anko and I will handle the other two."

Sakura nodded numbly. "Alright."

"Are you sure you're up for this Sakura?" Tsunade asked softly, placing a hand on her student's shoulder. "If you need more time then we can have Anko or Ibiki do this…"

Bam.

Tsunade and Ibiki both turned to Sakura, who had slammed her cup onto the bar. It had shattered, the glass cutting into the table and the sake pouring out everywhere, the amber liquid mixing with crimson as Sakura's blood from the cuts on her hand flowed into the alcohol.

"Sakura—" Tsunade began, reaching forward, but stopped as Sakura spoke.

"I won't be given special treatment, Tsunade-shishou." Sakura muttered with a shake of her head. "I'll do my duty to my village and fulfill my mission."

Tsunade's eyes darkened with worry as she bit her lip. She remembered the first time Sakura had uttered those words to her. Her hands clenched into fists.

"I am a shinobi of Konohagakure. Sasuke Uchiha is a traitor to my village. You know how I am about traitors." She looked down at her hand, slowly taking out the pieces of glass. She did nothing to heal her hand, however.

"Sakura…" Ibiki spoke sternly.

"I'm fine. Both of you should stop worrying. I'm going for a walk, I think." Sakura whispered. "I need to get ready for tomorrow."

"Goodnight Sakura-chan. Get some rest." Tsunade supplied with a smile. Ibiki grunted.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah."

"Getting drunk in the middle of the afternoon is most unsatisfactory for an interrogation shinobi Haruno. You need to keep your senses about you. I don't want to see you anywhere near the interrogation compound until tomorrow." Ibiki spoke in his usual cold voice.

Sakura gave another small smile.

"Got it sensei."

Tsunade watched her leave, before she stood as well. "I'd better head to the hospital and check on our patient."

* * *

Light assailed them. He was not in Cloud, he knew that immediately. The room was brightly lit. He sat up slowly, a hand to his chest. Where had once been a continuous, sharp pain, there was now only a mild throb that was lessening even as he thought about it. The cuts all over his body were bandaged, most of them completely healed already. He touched his neck, and he still felt the soreness.

It was hard to swallow.

The room was silent, but he could hear birds chirping outside his window. He turned to look outside, seeing the sun shining through the frame. The curtains had been pulled back thoughtfully, giving him a good view of…Konoha.

He was back.

Sakura Haruno, the weak link of team seven, had beaten _the_ Sasuke Uchiha.

"Would you look at that? Sasuke Uchiha the prodigy…" A figure pushed off of the wall where they had been leaning. "And to think I was once afraid of you. After seeing you come back in that pathetic rag doll state, I guess I'm over my fear."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in annoyance, his eyes narrowing. Shikamaru Nara had always been slightly annoying to him. Perhaps it was his tactical insight that even Sasuke couldn't foil, or perhaps it was just his laziness.

Shikamaru gave a small smile. "Welcome back Uchiha. I've been assigned to watch you here until you awoke. Since you are awake now…" He was about to continue when the door opened.

"Good morning Shikamaru," The loud voice of the Hokage resounded throughout the room. "Good to see that you're actually standing guard instead of dozing off. Now, where is our patient—ah, you're awake." Her eyes zeroed in on his annoyed grimace.

"You don't seem to very happy with your predicament." Tsunade smiled softly as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Sasuke Uchiha, you have a lot of explaining to do."

"I don't need to explain anything." Sasuke snorted.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" Shikamaru winced, knowing what was coming next. Usually it ended in some large object being thrown out the window or slammed down at least three stories of the building.

"Uh, Hokage-sama, I'm going to go and get the ANBU you wanted to watch him when he awoke so…"

"Stay."

"Right." Shikamaru sighed as he stopped in his tracks. _Geeze. Another bossy woman. My life is full of 'em…my mom, Ino, Sakura…_Temari_…Now I know where _Sakura_ gets it, at least…_

"You left Konoha. You endangered the lives of several of my shinobi. You almost _killed_ Naruto Uzumaki three years ago. And I had three bleeding, scratched shinobi come back carrying you and your three companions all looking like you've been chewed up and spit out." Tsunade began harshly. "I think you have a hell of a lot of explaining to do."

"I was unconscious."

"No shit."

Sasuke grunted at this. Tsunade was a strange Hokage. He didn't remember much about her, except for the fact that she'd healed him after his encounter with his brother. She didn't seem very orthodox about anything, and she wasn't the most polite of Kages either.

"I didn't ask to be brought here. In fact, I don't plan on staying here either." Sasuke answered coldly.

"You are a missing-nin of Konoha, and you've just been brought back as a prisoner, Sasuke Uchiha. You have no say in where you'll be going." Tsunade spoke with a finality that was deafening. "If it weren't for those seals placed on your arms, you'd be under some tight surveillance right now, Uchiha. Don't toy with my good graces." Then she walked out of the room. Luckily she didn't slam it. Otherwise, it would have gone through the wall opposite it and out of the building.

"Yo."

Sasuke and Shikamaru both turned to the window, where Kakashi was sitting on the windowsill, looking at them with his usual, carefree smile. The only way they could tell he was smiling was because of the crinkle around the edges of his eye.

"Kakashi-san." Shikamaru sighed with relief. "Well, my time here is done. See you around Sasuke…or not, if you keep acting like this." Shikamaru waved lazily at Kakashi before he headed out of the door as well, leaving the sensei and his student alone.

"I see you're feeling better now. Your fever seemed serious." His tone was joking as he stepped inside the hospital room. "You really shouldn't be so gruff with Hokage-sama, however. It won't help in your trial."

"I'm going to be executed anyway." Sasuke answered back blandly. "Why did you and Naruto bring me back?"

"Me and Naruto?" Kakashi mused. "Aren't you forgetting someone?"

"If you had not forgotten, Sakura Haruno did not wish to bring me back to become a member of team seven once more. She was merely fulfilling her duty." Sasuke wondered if that was what bothered him the most. Sakura hadn't come begging for him to return to Konoha because she loved him.

Kakashi's smile broadened as he chuckled. "Is that so?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Hai."

"Well, I won't argue with your twisted logic, Sasuke."

"Hn."

Kakashi gave a small sigh. "I was told that you were planning on siding with Cloud for the war. Is that true?"

"Hai."

Kakashi sighed again. "Well, it's not my place to ask you the details. That goes to the Interrogation Unit. You'll be questioned tomorrow, I think."

Sasuke grunted.

"I hope you know, your friends are getting hell for this, Sasuke. Everyone else in Konoha wants you dead. You should show some compassion."

"I didn't ask them to do it. Nor do I care what happens to them." Sasuke answered back icily.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and gave him a dubious look as if to say, 'sure, uh-huh', although it was hidden behind a serious one. "Well, since you don't feel like talking, just sit and relax. Shizune will come in and check on you in a little while." He talked as if he were speaking to a little child, which annoyed the hell out of Sasuke.

Then Kakashi leaned back in the chair on the other side of the room and for all intents and purposes seemed to drift to sleep.

Sasuke watched him through narrowed eyes. He flexed his arm muscles, feeling the soreness in them. _My friends came and saved me?_ He snorted. _Idiots. I don't need friends._.

He looked up to see Kakashi watching him in amusement, as if he knew what he was thinking. Sasuke frowned. "What?"

"You don't want to leave." Kakashi stated.

"What makes you think that?" Sasuke asked, eyes narrowing as he waited for his former sensei's answer.

"You would have gone for the window already."

* * *

Sakura was seated on the stone bench at the outskirts of Konoha. She hadn't come here since that night when he'd left her. But…she felt it was appropriate now. She had been too weak to stop him then. And now, now she was strong enough to bring him back.

And she'd keep him here.

_I told myself I didn't love you anymore. I promised myself I wouldn't be an idiot. And that's true, I guess…_

…_so why do I hate myself for being so cold? _She gave a small sigh as she fiddled with one of her kunai, throwing it idly at the tree in front of her. It hit dead center, sticking.

"Hey forehead, what on earth are you doing out here?" Ino asked as she sat down beside her. "Shouldn't you be at your dear Sasuke-kun's side, waiting on him and asking him if he wants some ice in his water?" The tone was a bit harsh, and Sakura knew it was because Ino and the others hated Sasuke for his betrayal.

Sakura shot her friend a glare, who merely smiled, "I was joking, Sakura. I know you better than that. But I didn't expect you to…to do what you did for him."

Sakura turned to look away. "What to do you mean, what I did for him?"

"I was told that your mission meant you were supposed to kill Sasuke if it came to that. You didn't."

Sakura shrugged.

Ino continued, "I thought you were over him. I knew with me, after he left, I realized it was a stupid crush. But…I guess that…I guess it wasn't just a crush for you."

"No…I guess it wasn't. But that's not important, since the love I held for him is most certainly gone now."

Ino sighed. "Don't act like that forehead. It's annoying. I hate seeing you so emotionless and uncaring. It makes your forehead wrinkle. And after all that talk about finally growing into that large forehead of yours, you're going to ruin it and make yourself ugly again."

Sakura snorted.

"But if you don't love Sasuke anymore…then why didn't you kill him?"

"…I promised Naruto I would bring back his best friend." Sakura answered back softly. "And…I think that I failed in that mission."

"What do you mean?" Ino's brow furrowed.

"He'll never be like Naruto wants him to. I can tell by the look he gave me. Sasuke isn't like he used to be. He's…haunted. By the past, his lust for revenge…he's haunted by many things."

"Like you." Ino responded. She hated the fact that it was true. Sakura was haunted by her own demons, and Ino wished her friend would open up and tell her what they were.

"I guess Naruto's the only one with a soul anymore." Sakura spoke casually, as if she were discussing the weather.

"You have a soul."

Sakura gave a soft laugh. "No…I'm just a good actress I suppose."

Ino frowned, looking at her friend from the corner of her eye. "Sakura…now that you've brought Sasuke back…are you a true ninja now?"

Sakura didn't smile like Ino would have thought.

"I guess I am." Sakura nodded, before she stood. "I need to get some sleep if I'm going to be at my best for the interrogations tomorrow."

"Sakura just don't…don't stop being _Sakura_…ok?" Ino whispered, giving her friend a hug before she could respond. She felt Sakura tense against her, and it made Ino sad. Sakura wasn't used to contact anymore, it made her uncomfortable. Like she didn't know how to deal with happiness and affection.

"Yeah." Sakura whispered. "Sure."

Ino let her go and Sakura headed down the street to her home. How could she be herself when she'd spent a year teaching herself to forget who that weak little girl was?

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes with a smile as he heard the door open. He jumped off of the couch, "Hey Sakura-chan!"

Sakura blinked a few times, seeing Naruto standing in the middle of her living room. He was wearing his shinobi pants…and no shirt. Sakura gave a soft sigh. He always said he took off his shirt because her house was too hot.

Sakura would always comment back that it was just because Naruto was having hot flashes.

"What are you doing in my house, Naruto?"

"I'm not allowed to go and talk to teme." Naruto murmured. "And…and I really wanted to talk to you."

Sakura nodded as she slipped off her shoes and socks, as well as the rest of her shinobi weapons. Then she slumped down onto the couch, Naruto beside her. Actually, he sprawled out completely on the couch, his head in her lap.

Sakura played with his hair. It was something she always did when she was thinking about the right words to say to him. Like the time she'd told him that she didn't love him like he wanted her to. She'd just sat and played with his hair and cried. The tears had soaked his hair and he'd cried with her.

It had been both of them accepting truths they didn't want to. The fact that Sakura and Naruto would never be anything more than friends…and the fact that Sakura had still been hopelessly in love with Sasuke.

Her fingers pulled a little, but the tugging was comfortable. Naruto closed his eyes and waited for her to speak.

"…you want to know why I chose not to kill him." Sakura whispered.

"No. I want to know why you had to choose at all." Naruto answered back, frowning. "He's our _friend_ Sakura. He's hurt you and he deserves to pay for that. He deserves to hurt for it but…he's still our teme isn't he?"

Sakura gave a soft laugh. "Naruto…he's not like he used to be."

"I've learned to live with _you_ haven't I?"

When they had been younger Sakura would have smacked him and cursed. But now, she merely sighed with a soft chuckle as she continued stroking his hair.

"We're all hurting, in our own way Sakura…" Naruto murmured, grabbing her hand in his. "You all think I'm an idiot and that I can't see these things but it's not true. I know that Sasuke and Kakashi were always worried about caring for someone because they were afraid to lose someone precious to them. And you just wanted everyone's acceptance, like me."

"Have we all got what we wanted, Naruto?" Sakura whispered.

"No." Naruto shook his head. "I think we've ruined it now. I don't think we'll ever get what we want."

"You mean you and I will never be accepted?" Sakura mused.

Naruto gave a small laugh. "I mean Sasuke and Kakashi have lost their battle to keep everyone at bay."

"…only Kakashi."

"You're wrong Sakura. Sasuke still cares. Somewhere deep inside him is the old Sasuke. I can _feel_ it."

"It doesn't matter." Sakura snapped. "Because even if he's there you'll never get him back. He'll never be Sasuke until he's gotten over his damned thoughts of revenge."

"Sakura…"

"It doesn't matter what you want, or what I want, or what Kakashi-sensei wants because Sasuke doesn't give a damn. He'll just do what _he_ wants without worrying about whether or not he hurts us. That's how he is."

"Sakura…"

"And no matter how hard I try and deny it I…I want the twelve-year-old Sasuke back too. I want him to glare at me and tell me I'm annoying, and I want you and him to get in those stupid fights you'd always get into. I want…I want what we'll never have again. I want to be a family…"

Sakura didn't notice that she was shaking slightly, or that Naruto was holding her, or that hot tears were gathering in her eyes. They never fell, even as Naruto held her and rocked her back and forth, murmuring comforting words.

"I asked Ibiki and he said…he said you could be there, if you wanted to. I know it'll be hard for you, because I'm going to have to do things I don't want to but…"

"I'll be there for you Sakura." Naruto murmured into her hair. He knew the unspoken question behind her request. She needed the support and he would give it. He AND Kakashi.

"…thanks."

And then she was asleep. He cradled her in his arms, giving a soft sigh. Why couldn't Sasuke have just come back with them willingly?

* * *

The next morning Sakura awoke with a small groan. She was still curled up against Naruto—in a very uncomfortable position on the couch. His elbow was jammed into her ribs and his was drooling onto her neck. And she was suffering from the most painful hangover she'd ever experienced.

She pushed him away as she slipped off the couch and pressed a healing hand to her temple. She heard a soft chuckle and she turned to see Kakashi sitting in one of the chairs opposite where Naruto was sleeping.

"You looked cute together." Kakashi sighed. "But like I said before, if it had been _me_—"

Sakura just shook her head as she threw the pillow at his face. "If I wasn't so afraid that you'd grope me the first chance you got I _would_ let you cuddle. But you read too much porn."

Kakashi laughed, before his gaze sobered. "The interrogation begins in a few hours."

Sakura nodded. "I need to go get ready. I have to check to see if there's anything for me to do at the hospital before I head to the interrogation compound. Wake Naruto up, will you?"

There was an impish grin in Kakashi's eye as he answered back that he'd do what she asked. She didn't even want to know what he had planned as she walked into her bedroom and shut the door.

* * *

Karin hated chairs.

Ok, so maybe she didn't hate all chairs. Just the one she was sitting in now. The cold steel was burning her bare legs.

Karin swallowed, trying to wet her dry throat as she looked around the room. She was captured. She had been surprised and captured by the copy ninja. Her eyes narrowed in disgust. She knew all about him from Sasuke. Why hadn't she been able to defeat him?

She was sitting in a chair in the middle of a completely blank room. White walls. Two empty chairs were sitting against the wall a good five feet in front of him. One steel chair was next to the door, which was closed.

The room was well lit, with one large light in the middle of the ceiling. It was starting to get on Karin's nerves. She was, after all, used to the dim lights in the cave-like bases of Sound.

She had been sitting in the silent room for hours now. Alone. Awake. Cursing herself. She wondered if that was perhaps a part of the interrogation. She had heard of Ibiki of the Konoha Interrogation squad. He could make a person talk without physical violence. And that was what scared Karin. She could handle _pain_, after all.

She shifted in the bindings around her body. Certain chakra containing tags and seals had been wrapped around her wrists, ankles, and neck. Her arms were bound with a tied chord that Karin couldn't identify. It would not break. Her legs were also tied with it.

What irked her most was the smell of the room.

Absolutely nothing.

She was used to chemicals, blood, death. Clean air. Anything. But this was going to drive her mad. Seven hours of smelling nothing, hearing nothing save for her own breathing, tasting nothing in the air…

She was already going mad.

And Karin didn't break easy.

The door opened and Karin looked up, seeing Anko and Ibiki walk inside. She stiffened in her chair but made no other response to their entrance. Anko slumped down in the chair in front of her, Ibiki sat in the other.

The door opened one more time, and Karin froze.

"Sorry I was late. I slept in." The young woman who was closing the door behind herself couldn't be the one Sasuke had told her about. Pink hair. Bright green eyes.

Sakura Haruno.

Ibiki grunted, turning to Karin. "So. Karin. Shinobi of Sound, assistant of Orochimaru, one of his most trusted advisors, a member of Team Hebi…" He flipped through the files in a large manila envelope.

"Kakashi told me to say sorry about your glasses, little girl." Anko grinned maliciously at her, pointing to the shattered glasses on the small table in front of them. Karin's eyes narrowed.

But she was barely paying them any attention. Her eyes drifted once more to Sakura. Wasn't the damn girl supposed to be ugly? True, she still looked like dirt compared to Karin herself but…she had an aura around her that told Karin she had competition in the looks department.

She was wearing the traditional garb of Konoha shinobi, minus the green vest. Instead she was wearing a white coat—as if she had just come from a hospital or something.

"You are under some serious charges: inhumane experiments on several subjects, conspiracy to destroy Konoha, murder of several Konoha shinobi…" Ibiki looked up. "The list goes on and on."

Karin let out a small laugh. "Tell me something I _do__n't_ know." She peered at Sakura from the corner of her eye. She kept watching him, her eyes calculating. What was she doing there?

Anko sighed. "Don't make me come over there and hurt you, bitch."

Karin smirked. "It won't really bother me, _Mitarashi_."

Anko's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing. She merely stuffed her hands into her trench coat pockets and leaned back lazily in her chair.

"Calm yourself, Anko." Ibiki spoke in his usual, emotionless voice. He turned to look at Karin once more. Karin's eyes narrowed. Ibiki really was rather revolting to look at—no, intimidating was a better word. The myriad of scars across his face was amazing.

"It's quite understandable, your loyalty to Orochimaru. But after he died, you became a member of team Hebi. Tell me, what good did that do you?"

"Che." Anko huffed. "Don't bother, Ibiki. This little girlie won't tell us anything." She grinned rather wickedly, her eyes flashing. "Not until we get _rough_."

"I'm not afraid of either of you." She motioned to Anko and Ibiki. "If it weren't for these bonds, you would both be dead right now."

Anko snorted. "We aren't the only two people in here."

Karin heard a sound and her eyes trailed back to Sakura, where she had shifted, crossing her legs. What was she _doing_ there? She looked almost bored with the situation.

Ibiki gave a small sigh. "You were never a particularly strong child when you were younger, were you? No. Of course not. Judging from your character it only makes sense you weren't a strong child. You were a weakling, I believe. You _look_ like a weakling."

Karin's eyes narrowed.

"Why don't you just tell us what we want to know, Karin? If you tell us everything you know about Orochimaru and what you and the rest of Hebi were planning than we will be sure to talk to the Hokage on your behalf. Perhaps you can be let out of here." Ibiki spoke casually.

Karin laughed. "Don't fuck with me. I know better than to believe I will be set free."

Sakura gave a small sigh. "Ibiki, Anko, I'll take it from here."

Ibiki nodded, while Anko grinned at Karin, winking. "Have fun." She turned to Sakura as she and Ibiki made to the door, "Don't take too long. You have one more after all."

Sakura nodded with a small sigh. "A few hours should do it."

"Alright."

Ibiki and Anko left. Karin heard the door close behind her, and she flinched slightly at the sound. It locked. Sakura was sitting in the seat in front of her, the files balanced on her legs. She was flipping through them slowly.

Flick.

She made a small grunt that was half a laugh as she skimmed a page. She looked back up at Karin, then back down to the file with a small smile.

Karin's eyes narrowed. What was she smiling and laughing at?

"After reading your file I just can't see why Orochimaru would want you—or why Sasuke Uchiha would for that matter." Sakura began, noticing her gaze.

"If youo knew about my abilities—" Karin hissed, but was cut off as Sakura continued casually.

"I think you obeyed Orochimaru because you were afraid of him…" Sakura began. "But I think it developed into a love for him. I've heard you didn't want to leave the base he had entrusted to you."

Karin shrugged.

"After his arms were destroyed, you could have killed him yourself—if you're as strong as you keep saying you are." She shifted through the files once more.

"You were just like me, once." Sakura continued. "Weak. You worked on your intelligence because it was the only thing you had. That, and chakra control. Even your special jutsu couldn't help you much in battle. It only taught you when to run and when to stay." Sakura placed the files on the table, lacing her fingers together as she watched him.

"But you never got over your weakness."

"What do you mean?" Karin bit out.

"You took out your anger at your own weakness by torturing and experimenting on innocent victims." Sakura murmured. Karin saw the way her eyes flashed angrily.

Karin snorted. "So did Sasuke Uchiha, in case you didn't know. He isn't so innocent now, _Sakura_." Karin smirked wider. "He's a _killer_. Or perhaps you are the weak one. You want to save him still, don't you?"

"Not really." Sakura answered back steadily. "I could care less about Sasuke Uchiha. He was a childhood crush, but nothing more. It's something we all outgrow, in time." She leaned back in her chair. "However…I think your judgment of me is rather askew now. I was, in truth, quite a weakling in the beginning. Like you, I relied solely on my intelligence. But, that isn't really enough now is it?"

"Hm."

"But, unlike you, I became stronger. I didn't hide in the shadow of someone else. I didn't allow myself to continue to melt under the stair of some ebony-haired shinobi with a cute face." Sakura gave a dry laugh.

Karin gritted her teeth. "You're just jealous that Sasuke loves me and hates you, you ugly little whore."

* * *

Sasuke didn't appreciate the bindings holding him. He was looking through the one-way glass at the interrogation room. Sakura was sitting casually in her chair, looking as if she didn't have a care in the world.

Sasuke ignored the Hokage, Kakashi, Naruto, Anko, and Ibiki, who stood behind him.

"_**You're just jealous that Sasuke loves me and hates you, ugly little whore."**_

Sasuke waited for Sakura's outburst. He almost smirked. Not even the new Sakura would be able to feign disdain here.

He was wrong.

* * *

She just leaned back in her chair, propping up her feet on Karin's lap even as the other woman protested. She gave a small grin and laughed, "To tell you the truth, Karin I don't give a damn about Sasuke's love life. If you get out maybe you can start birthing little Uchiha's for him. That's all he wants from a woman after all."

She gave another laugh at Karin's indignant gasp.

"But wait a second…if Sasuke thought you were suitable then why on earth are the two of us sitting her? If he had thought you'd make a great baby factory he would have probably banged you already. That's about his mentality when it comes to things like that."

* * *

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the accusation. He didn't like Sakura's words. They were…true? He didn't know. He just knew he hated hearing them.

He also hated the snickers from behind him at Sakura's comment.

* * *

Karin gritted her teeth.

Sakura cocked her head to one side as she studied the woman in front of her. "Maybe it's your hips. They're too slim. Or maybe it's your breasts. I'm sure Sasuke would like something he could at least _grab_. You see, you have to be a woman for Sasuke to actually want to have sex with you. Unfortunately for you, you have the appearance of a teenage boy who hasn't quite hit puberty."

"Yeah?" Karin snapped. "Well you don't exactly fit the description of his curvaceous dream girl either, bitch."

Sakura let out another dark laugh. "It's called chest bindings, Karin. Maybe you should look into it. Otherwise they'll sag."

Karin sputtered out something but was cut off as Sakura continued.

"But I don't really care whether I'm what Sasuke wants or not. I'm not interesting in lying on my back for the next ten years popping out little Sharingan wielders." Sakura drawled. She looked over to the wall—the wall that the others were watching them through.

"But then again, Sasuke could very well be gay. I suppose your boyish figure would appeal to him greatly if that were the case." And she smirked as if she found the fact that Sasuke could hear her amusing.

* * *

Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly as he listened. Naruto let out a soft laugh, while Anko completely broke down laughing. Even Ibiki cracked a small smile.

Sasuke could see that Sakura was intimidating Karin already, even with simple banter. She could make a slip any moment now.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

**(A\N: Well, the interrogation has begun! I know I know everyone wanted to see Sakura interrogate Sasuke but that's the next chapter. Something to look forward to I guess. **

**I hope you all liked the chapter. Oh, and this is definitely not the last time Sakura and Karin will talk. Hehehe… (I really don't like Karin too much if you hadn't noticed)**

**Well, buh-bye!**

**Lady Hanaka**

**Pick-up-line: I lost my puppy, can you help me find it? I think it went into that cheap motel room.) **


	7. Chapter 6: Breaking Point

**Chapter 6**

**Breaking Point**

* * *

Sakura smirked inwardly at Karin's red face. It was working. All Sakura had to do was act like a bitch and Karin was breaking. Sakura gave a small sigh at how easy it was. With some people she interrogated she had to be coy and seductive, other's she had to be dark and malicious, and some she just had to make angry. Her personality changed with their personality.

Just like her personality would have to change with Sasuke's when she got to him. She couldn't think about that at the moment, however. She had to remain focused on the task at hand. So she leaned back in her chair with a smile.

"So tell me Karin, what exactly did you do for Orochimaru, besides torture? I mean, I've heard you have such a _myriad_ of skills…" She gave another smirk as Karin's eyes narrowed dangerously once more.

"Don't talk to me like that little bitch! I was one of Orochimaru's most trusted subordinates!"

"Ah." Sakura nodded. "Now we're getting somewhere. As his subordinate, what did you do for him?"

"Like I'd tell you." Karin snorted. "It's not like you could understand any of it anyway. It's technical."

"I'm a medic. Try me." Sakura answered back.

Karin clamped her mouth shut, glaring daggers.

"Ok, ok…" Sakura shrugged. "Let me guess what you did for Orochimaru then…" Her gaze was thoughtful. "No, let's be honest. You didn't do anything _for_ him. You just did _him_."

Karin gasped. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"I see why you'd try and jump Sasuke then too." Sakura laughed. "I mean, maybe you wanted to compare _snakes_, eh?" She winked as Karin's face turned a bit red. She was livid.

"For your information I did not sleep with Orochimaru! I was in charge of his torture experiments! I'm the one who initiated who was suitable for curse seals! I—I—I…" She stopped, her face paling a bit.

_Bingo. _Sakura laughed silently. Karin was so easy to trick. "I see. Curse seals, _that's_ an interesting topic. Let's continue with that one." Sakura smirked as Karin gritted her teeth. "I know Juugo was used to create the curse seal but could you elaborate for me, perhaps?"

"Go to hell!" Karin shrieked. "You're just an annoying little girl whose jealous because MY Sasuke-kun hates you. You're weak and pathetic and you're ugly!"

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Finished?"

Karin closed her mouth, unsure of what to say now.

"You're just like I used to be…" Sakura murmured, and her gaze was almost sympathetic. "But chasing after a boy who thinks of you as nothing more than a nuisance is a waste of time. I know, I did it for three years." Sakura laughed bitterly. "Get a new hobby."

She stood and gave an almost imperceptible nod to the one-way glass. She closed the door behind her, ignoring Karin's shrieks.

Anko met her in the hallway and they began walking to one of the back rooms.

"Now that she's clammed up I'll have to use either genjutsu or just physical pain." Sakura shrugged. "And frankly, she's getting on my nerves. It's like looking at my twelve-year-old self." She wrinkled her nose. "I really _was_ annoying."

Anko grinned, "Yeah, it was 'Sasuke-kun this' and 'Sasuke-kun that' you're life revolved around that Uchiha."

"Thank god I've gotten some sense knocked into me." Sakura murmured. "So I'm thinking that we should finish with her for the day, or let someone else take her. I'm going to have my hands full with Sasuke. I'll need to be sharp for that."

"He'll keep you on your toes."

"I suppose I should have tried harder on Karin." Sakura shrugged. Anko out an arm around her shoulders, "It's not your fault, you're just too excited with torturing Sasuke to deal with her."

Sakura snorted. "By the way, what did you observe about Sasuke? Did anything I say ruffle his feathers?"

Anko sighed. "Not really. He didn't like the gay comment, but all he did was give that little 'hn' of his. It'll be hard to get a rise out of him."

"Haruno, Karin's been taken out and the Uchiha is in place." Ibiki walked up to them, his face impassive. "Try to be a bit more efficient with this one. I know you've been looking forward to it."

"Aw don't give her a hard time about Karin. She would have annoyed the shit out of you too." Anko drawled. "We both know I would have already gone for the little hussy's throat."

Ibiki snorted. "I suppose so. I'll let you take over her interrogation Anko. I want Sakura to focus fully on the Uchiha."

Anko nodded. "Yeah. Got it. Do I get to smack the bitch around?"

Ibiki raised an eyebrow and Anko pouted, "Pleeeeeeaaase?"

Sakura just sighed. "Alright, head back. I'll begin in a minute."

"Don't let your emotions get a hold of you in this interrogation, Haruno." Ibiki stated as he and Anko walked back down the hall.

Sakura stayed in the silence for a moment, sighing. She had physically prepared herself for fighting with Sasuke to bring him back, and she had mentally prepared herself for what she was about to do now.

She knew that Naruto would think it was horrible of her. He would give her that look that said he was disappointed she would stoop to such levels. Kakashi would realize it was necessary, but she'd still see that small sadness there for what she was about to do to Sasuke.

She didn't want to do it but it had to be done. She blinked for a second, before her eyes darkened. No, that was a lie. Sakura _did_ want to do it. She wanted to see him suffer. The thought sickened her, but she welcomed it.

And so she did a few hand signs and walked back to the room. Her hand shook a bit as she touched the knob, before she took a deep breath and walked inside.

* * *

Naruto, Tsunade, and Kakashi sat watching the room. Sasuke was sitting, looking as bored as usual.

Anko and Ibiki walked back inside and Anko was grinning. "This is gonna be good." She stopped for a second as she noticed Naruto's worried gaze.

"Hey kid, just remember: that person sitting in that chair isn't your old friend. He's an enemy and a missing-nin. Until he's cleared of all charges at a trial he's a criminal."

"I know." Naruto whispered.

"So don't begrudge Haruno for what she must do." Ibiki stated.

Naruto stared at the two, before giving a nod as the door to the interrogation room opened—and Sakura stepped inside. Naruto blinked a few times, not sure if what he saw was real.

"_Sakura_?"

* * *

Sasuke's eyes widened a bit as she walked inside. He blinked, trying to decide if what he was seeing was real or not.

She gave him a cheerful smile, "Hey Sasuke-kun!" Then she plopped herself down in her chair, put her hands on her knees, and leaned forward with that old smile of her's. "What's wrong?"

Sasuke didn't know what to say to the twelve-year-old girl sitting in front of him. He'd expected Sakura to be cold and aloof, or vicious and biting. But…not warm and welcoming. And not looking like _that_.

"So Sasuke-kun, we brought you back! Aren't you happy? You're home now…where you belong."

Sasuke snorted. "Stop the charade Sakura."

Sakura pouted. "Sasuke-kun…stop being so mean. Why are you always so mean to me?"

"I said stop it, Sakura."

"You aren't my boss Sasuke-kun." Sakura frowned. "But you're right, we have other things to talk about." She giggled a bit, fluttering her eyelashes. "Sasuke-kun…why were you going to side with Cloud? Konoha could have offered you a better deal, ne?"

"Hn."

"Sasuke…don't you want to go back to the way it used to be?" Sakura asked with a smile. "We're still family, ne?"

"Hn."

She smiled brightly at him. "Sasuke-kun, if you don't tell me what I need to know then I'm going to have to be mean. I don't want to mean to you Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke looked up at her and snorted. He believed that she wanted to watch him suffer just as much as she wanted to watch the Akatsuki burn. She cocked her head to the side, looking at him. "Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn."

"When I ask a question, you give an answer, alright? That's the way it works here."

"Hn."

"Now then, first question: did you ever see the Jinchuuriki that Cloud said they had to lure the Akatsuki?"

…

…

…

"No." It was a harmless enough answer, right?

She gave a giggle. "Oh really Sasuke-kun, you are so gullible. Unless they showed it to you they probably don't have one. How foolish of you. How completely _stupid_." Her voice had turned into a soft taunt. There was no little girl left, just the appearance of one.

"I guess the Uchiha Clan isn't as smart as I thought they were, ne Sasuke-kun? Maybe that's why they're all dead. If they all had the same one-track mind as you do then I'm surprised they didn't get slaughtered sooner."

"Shut up."

"I suppose it makes sense, you were desperate to go after your brother. I don't see why, everyone knows he's too strong for you. You'll never match his skills."

"Shut _up_." Sasuke muttered.

She smiled at him. "But then again, you knew that too. We ALL know that you can't beat him. Because even while you've been getting strong so has he. He'll always be five steps ahead of you."

She saw his jaw tighten.

"You know, it was stupid of me to even go after you when we were younger. I mean, I was only chasing the weakling. Maybe I should have followed after _Ita-kun_. I wonder if he would have taken me with him when I he left." She mused, giving a sly smile.

"He wouldn't have. He doesn't have time for _weaklings_." Sasuke smirked.

"I guess that explains why he didn't kill you. Too weak to kill, ne?" Sakura asked, unfazed at his insult. "But that is beside the point. We're getting off track. Tell me, why on earth would you side with Cloud when you didn't even know if they had a Jinchuuriki instead of Konoha where you KNOW we had one."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed a bit. "You wouldn't have let me use Naruto as bait."

Sakura's eyes narrowed in return. "Oh?"

* * *

Naruto looked to Kakashi and Tsunade, who gave him a level glance.

"It's an interrogation, Naruto. Sakura's talking shit to him right now." Anko supplied. Naruto nodded warily, before looking back at the two in the room.

"She shouldn't be egging him on with the death of his clan though…" Naruto murmured. "That's low."

"It's life." Ibiki grunted.

"Yeah…I guess so…" Naruto whispered.

* * *

"Tell me Sasuke." Sakura was standing behind him, her lips next to his ear. "Tell me why I shouldn't _kill you right here_." Her voice was too soft for the people in the other room to hear, and their backs were to the window, so Sasuke knew they couldn't read her lips. Her voice was filled with a venom he hadn't thought she possessed.

"And why would you do that, Sakura?" Sasuke asked coldly, a bit interested. It seemed as if Sakura had been waiting for this moment for a while, and she wasn't going along with her first tactic of getting to him by being the cute little twelve-year-old he remembered so well. No, she seemed to have thrown that idea out the window.

"I can make it so painful for you." She hissed. "I can inject you with a poison that makes your body literally eat itself from the inside out. And with my medic-nin abilities I can keep you awake through the whole thing. I can keep you alive and heal you after it's done and then start all over again. I can keep you alive for _years_."

She sounded deadly, and Sasuke didn't think he liked this version of Sakura. She was ruthless and harsh. She sounded as if she'd go through with her threats. He wondered, however, what had gotten her to the point that she'd want to torture him so badly?

* * *

"What's she doing?" Kakashi asked as they all craned their necks to see. But Sakura had her back to them and was whispering something to Sasuke.

"I don't know…" Ibiki's eyes narrowed. He looked to Anko, who shrugged.

Tsunade's eyes were dark with worry as she continued to watch the scene unfold in front of them.

Naruto was gripping the arms of his chair tightly, his knuckles white.

* * *

"You haven't answered my question, Sakura. Why would you wish to kill me?"

"You aren't the one doing the fucking interrogation, Sasuke." Sakura snapped. "I don't have to answer your question. And if you don't know the answer then you don't even deserve a trial. You should be executed right now!"

"And are you going to be the one to do it?"

Sakura gave a dark laugh. "You really have no clue what you've done, do you?"

"Hn."

Suddenly she was gripping his collar, pulling his face up to meet her's. Her eyes flashed angrily as she yelled. "YOU FUCKING TORTURED CHILDREN UCHIHA!"

Sasuke blinked, eyes a bit wide.

"When Anko, Ibiki and I got there…I…you have no idea what I saw. And then one of them told me. They told me all about what YOU did." Sakura ground out, and Sasuke could see the hatred burning in those emerald depths. .

He had never thought to see Sakura like that. The crazed look in her eyes reminded him of himself. It reminded him of the curse seal.

"I was told that you tortured little children who begged you to stop and you just _laughed_." Sakura's grip tightened, and Sasuke wondered if she was going to strangle him.

Sasuke gave a small smirk. "Maybe I liked it."

BAM! Sakura slammed him back down in the chair with her insane strength, breaking the legs off of it. Sasuke gritted his teeth as one of the metal legs cut into his leg.

* * *

"Dammit, what's she doing?" Tsunade shouted as she stood. "Someone go in there and get her out!"

Naruto was staring, eyes wide at the revelation. He couldn't move. Sasuke had tortured little children? No…no…surely he'd been under some kind of genjutsu, or maybe Orochimaru had activated the curse seal or something! Sasuke would never…never…

_Oh god Sasuke_…Kakashi stared at his former student as if he didn't know him. _This is why Sakura snapped. She can kill, she can torture without mercy, but when it comes to children…to _innocent_ children…_

Ibiki was already at the door, he and Anko were trying to open it.

"It's locked!" Anko exclaimed in surprise. "DAMMIT! HARUNO OPEN THE DOOR!"

* * *

Sakura looked Sasuke straight in the eye. She was breathing heavily, but she merely let go of Sasuke's collar. She gave a small, dark smile. "Enjoy, Sasuke Uchiha." And then she slowly stood.

Sasuke blinked in confusion, before the world began to turn black. The last thing he saw was Sakura as she walked slowly to the door. Then she disappeared into the shadows. Shadows that began taking form.

Sasuke stared down at his hands. _No. Oh god. No. No. No…_The crimson moon above him shined brightly, and he knew what was about to happen. This may have only been a replica of Tsukiyomi, but without his ability to dispel the genjutsu…

And that was when the corpses of the Uchiha Clan came into view and the smell of blood drifted to his nostrils. He felt sick and he wanted to scream.

_No! Sakura no!!_

_  
_But the nightmare didn't stop.

Sakura opened the door calmly, even as Sasuke began yelling, trapped in the genjutsu hell she had created for him. She had snapped. She wouldn't be surprised if Ibiki fired her. But she just watched as they busted into the room.

"What the hell was that about Haruno?" Anko roared. "Get him out of that genjutsu!"

"It'll wear off in a while." Sakura answered back blandly.

Ibiki looked at her, then at Anko.

"You wanted me to break him, right?" Sakura snapped. "I'm just doing me job, goddammit!" Then she slammed the door behind her as she stormed down the hallway.

The door to her left opened and Naruto, Kakashi, and Tsunade walked out.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto looked at her, his gaze troubled and a little frightened. "Why…I mean…how could you?"

"He isn't twelve, Naruto! He's a sixteen-year-old bastard who enjoys torturing little children for fun." Sakura yelled at him. "I'm ashamed to have ever loved that…that…_thing_!"

"Sakura…" Kakashi and Tsunade's voices were soft.

Sakura merely shook her head, stuffing her hands in her pockets as she heading out of the Interrogation base.

_I've got to get away. I can't stand it in there anymore. _She was ashamed with herself. Sakura Haruno, emotionless kunoichi of Konoha, had lost her cool. She'd given into anger when she'd promised herself she'd never do that again. She clenched her eyes shut, gritting her teeth as she walked into the cool night air.

She wondered how long she'd been walking. She found herself sitting down on the bench once more. She eased herself onto the cold stone, giving a soft sigh. She was so pathetic. Even now, Sakura Haruno had given in to emotion.

_The smell of your skin lingers on me now  
You're probably on your flight back to your home town  
I need some shelter of my own protection baby  
To be with myself and center, clarity  
Peace, Serenity  
_

Sakura laid her head back against the back of the bench, eyes closed. She had to calm herself down. She had to regain back that mantle of uncaring aloofness that she'd thrown about herself so many years ago.

**  
**_I hope you know, I hope you know  
That this has nothing to do with you  
It's personal, myself and I  
We've got some straightenin' out to do  
_

She clenched her hands into fists, feeling the nails dig into her palms. She needed a cigarette. Or maybe a beer. She didn't know what she needed only that she needed something. Something to forget everything.

_It's time to be a big girl now  
And big girls don't cry_

Because no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, deep down somewhere she still loved that bastard and it was killing her. She'd seen what he had done and she hated herself for loving him. 

Don't cry  
Don't cry  
Don't cry

_I fucked up_. She thought bitterly. I've been fooling myself all these years. She ignored the stinging at the corner of her eyes. No. She wouldn't…she would give in. _The path that I'm walking  
I must go alone  
I must take the baby steps 'til I'm full grown, full grown  
Fairytales don't always have a happy ending, do they?  
And I foresee the dark ahead if I stay  
_**  
**Because if Sakura gave in then she would never be able to look at herself in the mirror. She would hate herself even more then she hated herself now. And she couldn't live with that.

If she gave in she would be the one thing she'd sworn to destroy.

She would be a traitor.

_It's time to be a big girl now  
And big girls don't cry__…_

Sakura shook her head vigorously. She would rather die then become a traitor. She wouldn't love a traitor. She'd kill him first. She'd make him suffer for what he done to everyone.

Sakura gave another frustrated sigh. _I wish…I wish that he'd just died. _

_Don't cry…_

She then did something she hadn't done in a long time. She wrapped her arms around herself and rocked softly back and forth.

_Don't cry…_

He would go on trial. Because of what Sakura had said about his torturing of little children, she doubted he'd get out alive. He'd be executed.

_Don't cry…_

When Naruto found her, she was curled up on the bench, asleep. He picked her up gently, holding her close to him as he began walking back down the dark road to her home.

He never wanted to see the pain he'd seen in Sakura's eyes ever again. Ever. He wondered, even now, if he could forgive Sasuke for what he'd done…

* * *

**(A\N: Eh? The song was by Fergie, and even though I don't really like her, I thought the words of the song fit. So there's my explanation. Well, now you all know why Sakura snapped. It will be elaborated on further in the story and don't worry, as impossible as it seems, Sakura and Sasuke actually will get together by the end of this. It just may be a while.**

**Well, I hope you all enjoyed it. **

**See ya!**

**Lady Hanaka**

**Pick-up line: ****I'd buy you a drink, but I'd be jealous of the straw.)**


	8. Chapter 7: Unconscious Feelings

**Chapter 7**

**Unconscious Feelings**

* * *

Sakura gave a soft sigh as she awoke in her bed. She knew the warm body beside her was Naruto. The idiot had probably brought her back to her house after she'd fallen asleep on the bench and had been too tired to go home. Of course, that didn't bother her. Her house was his house and vise versa. It wasn't uncommon for one of them to sleep over at the other's house. Because of this, some of the villagers believed the two were romantically involved.

_Some people will never learn. _She thought as he turned over, seeing him hanging halfway off of the bed, drooling all over her pillow. _I feel sorry for Hinata. With that stamina, Naruto would be impossible in bed._

Sakura didn't wake him up as she sat on the edge of her bed, swinging her legs over the side and placing them on the cold wooden floor. She placed her head in her hands and sighed.

"Dammit. You let yourself go, Sakura." She berated herself. "No more…no longer. I won't let myself give in to my emotions that way anymore…"

_I won't become weak again for _anyone_. _

_Not for Naruto._

_Not for Tsunade._

_Not for Kakashi-sensei._

_And definitely not for Sasuke._

She breathed in deeply, and her eyes hardened with resolve, becoming emotionless once more.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Hm?"

"It's ok." Naruto whispered, and Sakura felt herself enveloped in a bear hug. He didn't budge, even as she squirmed a bit. She wasn't used to hugs anymore. They felt like a prison. A prison of emotions and attachments that she couldn't stand because if they let go she'd die. If she was free from that prison after being attached to it for so long she didn't think she could survive. That was how it worked. Emotions could strengthen you, but they could also kill you. She'd learned that the hard way.

"You have every right to be angry, Sakura-chan." Naruto continued firmly. "He may have left his village but he betrayed _you_. And to tell you the truth…" Naruto sighed. "I think he deserves the genjutsu you put him under."

Sakura said nothing.

"I just want you to know that…that no matter what happens, I'll make us a team again. It's my turn to hold us together now." Naruto gave a soft laugh. "It's my turn to be the bridge between us. Between you and him."

"Naruto…" Sakura shook her head. "No bridge can cover that gap anymore."

"He has to have a reason for what he did Sakura." Naruto held her even closer, crushing her against him. "I know he would never have liked it. _Never_. He's cold now, and he's haunted like you said, but he's not _evil_. He's not like Orochimaru."

"No, he isn't." Sakura agreed. "But I don't know any reason he would have to do that, Naruto."

"We'll have to ask him."

"Aa." Sakura murmured. "He goes on trial tomorrow."

"Yeah." Naruto answered. "Ibiki came by with Kakashi. You aren't allowed near the interrogation base for two weeks."

Sakura snorted. _I expected to be banned a lot longer than that. _"Tell me how the interrogation goes then."

"Eh?"

"You can still go." Sakura answered. "I'll probably be working at the hospital. Tsunade-shishou wanted me to look into Juugo's mental state."

"You can fix that?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"I can try."

"You're amazing Sakura-chan." Naruto kissed her cheek. "You can fix anything, ne?"

Sakura just smiled that sad smile of hers. "I'd better take a shower and then head to the hospital."

"I'll swing by tonight with Kakashi-sensei." Naruto grinned. "It's your turn to cook." It was a ritual of theirs—one Kakashi and Naruto had instigated. Once every month—it had been cut down from once every two weeks due to the increase in missions—the three of them would get together and eat, one of them cooking. Sometimes Sai and Yamato would come, but usually it was just the three of them.

Sakura nodded absently, finally slipping out of his arms. She looked back at him and shook her head, walking into the bathroom.

_I'm sorry your faith is so misplaced, Naruto. No one can fix everything. Especially not me._

* * *

Sasuke opened his eyes slowly, feeling groggy. His nightmares had slowly subsided into plain darkness and he'd gratefully let himself rest in that weak state of lethargy.

_Sakura…_he growled in his head, gritting his teeth. His jaw tightened and he was sure he had bit his lip, but a small scene from the genjutsu appeared and he relaxed a bit, his eyes turning thoughtful and confused.

_I wonder if you even meant to do it._ He thought absently as he shifted in his bindings. _You're so different now I don't know what to think about it all._

He disliked the new Sakura. He hated her for what she'd put him through but…for some reason, there was something about her that he couldn't place. Something that made it where he couldn't hate her.

It probably had to do with the genjutsu itself.

_"No…no…" A young Sasuke ran down the street. "Mother! Father!" It was dark. He saw soft shadows on the walls, shadows that moved as they dripped down to the ground. _

_Sasuke's eyes widened as he backed up a few steps from where he'd gone to inspect the wall. _

Blood…

_He stumbled backwards, tripping on something. He was pale and shaking as he felt warmth splash across his fingers. Wet and sticky. He looked down and let out a scream as he pushed himself away from the corpse. _

_"…auntie…?" His voice rose to a high-pitched wail. It cracked as his breath seemed to leave him and he clutched his heart, because his chest felt heavy and it hurt. _

_And then his face paled as he looked around at the bodies scattered around the compound. _

…mother…father…where are you?

_He jumped to his feet and ran towards his home, even if his legs felt like stones. They were so heavy…he could barely move. He wanted to sit and rest, or perhaps sleep, but he knew he couldn't. What had happened? He had to find his parents!  
He reached the door, breathless. Silence…he couldn't stand the deathly silence that filled the entire compound. He wondered if perhaps he would have preferred screams. _Anything_ to break the silence…_

_He slid the door open and the sound of the door grating against the wooden floor echoed. He unconsciously slipped off his shoes. His mother hated it when he tracked dirt into the house. _

_His bare feet touched the wood and it was painfully cold, making his toes ache a bit. Cold, he liked that. So different than the warmth of blood. Cold meant safe. _

_"Mother…?"_

_Silence._

_He heard the faint ticking of a clock in the kitchen. He hated that clock. Judging by the time he'd left the academy it would start chiming nine soon. He walked down the hallway, swallowing to wet his dry throat. _

_"…father?"_

_Nothing. The only sound was his own labored breathing. _

_"…Itachi?"_

_…_

_…_

_…_

_"Hn."_

_Sasuke froze as he neared the darkened doorway, recognizing the voice immediately. He ran inside with a relieved smiled. "Itachi! Itachi I was so...worried…"_

_He stopped at the scene in front of him. Lying in a heap on the floor were his parents. If it weren't for the crimson puddle surrounding them they could have been sleeping. Surely they were sleeping…_

_"Mother! Father!" He rushed forward, and the warmth of the blood touched his feet, drenching them. No, no! No warmth. He hated it. He needed cold again. He fell to his knees._

_"N…no…" He managed to choke out before he looked up at the figure leaning against the wall in the shadows. Crimson eyes…so different than the normal Sharingan. It shouldn't be like that! They shouldn't look like that!_

_"B-brother…what happened?" Sasuke asked in a broken whisper. "What happened? Did you…?"_

_Dong. The loud grandfather clock chimed nine, making Sasuke flinch._

_Itachi gave a dark chuckle. "I killed them."_

_Sasuke's eyes widened once more. "B-but…why?"_

_"To test my abilities." Itachi answered back blandly, his voice emotionless. _

_"To…test your _abilities_…?" Sasuke ground out, voice trembling. _

_…_

_…_

_…_

_"Hai."_

_And then his hand went to his katana. A katana already stained crimson. _

_Sasuke felt his body freeze with shock as Itachi walked over to him slowly. And then he found his strength once again as he jumped back, running out of the room. "Don't kill me!"_

_Panic filled him as he ran. He couldn't think. Everything was a blur as he ran, shadows blending. _No, no, no!_ Nothing was making sense. And then he tripped again as his tears blinded him. _

_He wiped them away and as he did so a shadow fell across his body. He began shaking once more, crying out, "Don't kill me! Please!" He wanted to put up his hands to shield his body but all he could do was look up through his veil of tears at the brother he had once loved more than anyone else._

_"Foolish brother…" Itachi chuckled. _

_…_

_…_

_…_

_"…you are too weak to kill."_

_And then Itachi was gone and Sasuke was screaming. Screaming because he couldn't get the scene of his parent's corpses out of his head. But that was when a pair of pale arms encircled him and he looked up, eyes wide and tear-filled. _

_His dark obsidian met beautiful, breathtaking jade. She was older than him, seventeen. He was still a seven-year-old boy who was shaking with fear. She held him close, rocking him back and forth as she sang softly._

_A hand ruffled his hair and he looked over Sakura's shoulder to see Naruto smiling brightly at him. Beside him was Kakashi. _

_"Don't you see Sasuke? We're here for you…always…" Sakura whispered as she rubbed his back comfortingly. "Always."_

Had Sakura meant to put that part of the jutsu there…or had it come out unconsciously? Did that mean that deep down inside…she still cared? Or was he clutching blinding at something that wasn't there?

_She hates me_, he thought emotionlessly. _Because of what I've done…but she doesn't understand. She would _never_ understand._

_Than make her understand!_ A part of him screamed angrily. _It's your only chance of salvation you damn idiot!  
_And that was when the door opened and Ibiki walked inside.

* * *

Sakura walked down the hallway of the hospital, her hands in the pockets of her long white medic coat that was placed over her plain white blouse and black, knee-length skirt. She hated the thing, but Tsunade insisted on a dress code. She wasn't wearing her shinobi headband right now, another part of the hospital dress code.

"_**We see enough headbands from the patients and so do they. It could end up scaring them, if they're in a state of panic already. The moment they see a headband they'll immediately think ninja, and they could possibly think '**_**enemy**_** ninja', which won't help us one bit." **_Tsunade's words rang in her head. So Sakura's headband was in easy reach in her pocket. She never took it off her body except to shower or to clean it.

It was her constant reminder of all she had gone through, of what she stood for. It would never leave her.

She looked down at the clipboard in her hands, sighing softly. She continued down the hallway, passing some of the other medics. They nodded their heads politely, but none of them tried to strike up a conversation. They'd long since learned that trying to talk to 'ice queen Haruno' was useless.

So Sakura just opened the door to her right and raised an eyebrow at the shinobi sitting on the edge of the hospital bed.

"Any reason that you're here?" She asked as she placed the clipboard down on the bed, standing in front of the black-haired shinobi.

He shrugged with that fake smile of his. "Well, usually a person goes to hospital after they're injured so I decided that since I had this large gaping hole in my side I should come."

Sakura snorted as her hands glowed green, "Lift up your arm if you can."

He complied, although she saw the small grimace as he did so and she placed her hand to the gash, sending some calming chakra to soothe the pain as she worked. It was a large wound, but not necessarily deep, which was why he wasn't already being worked on. Besides that, Sai had a habit of being stubborn like Kakashi and not letting anyone except her heal him.

"I take it your mission was successful?" Sakura asked blandly as she finished, ignoring the blood that caked her hand. She washed them in the basin on the stand beside the bed, letting the warm water soak into her hands as it turned a watery crimson.

"Of course."

Sakura nodded shortly. "Well, that should do it." She grabbed a pill from her pocket. "You've lost some blood, so here's a blood pill. Take this and then get some rest while your body adjusts to the changes." Those words were second nature to her, something her brain automatically made her say after a healing. The body had to regain strength and find normalcy after the medic-nin's healing chakra had invaded. It often left things a little…topsy-turvy.

She then placed a brace against his other side, wrapping it tightly. "I placed a bit of my chakra to speed up the bone-repairing process but it is best to let your ribs heal normally." When she was finished she scribbled on her clipboard.

"Do I have to stay the night?"

"No."

"Good." Sai stood, but Sakura saw the slight wince he made, as well as the way his legs shook as he tried to regain his balance. She frowned as she sat him back down.

"You didn't tell me something was wrong with your head."

Sai merely smiled. "You would have merely made a joke about how I was always that uncoordinated and stupid if I had said anything."

Sakura shot him a scathing look. "Hmph. I don't joke like that anymore." Then she placed her fingers to his temple, searching.

_I wish you did_. He thought, although he didn't know why. He wanted her to get angry with him and punch him like she used to, or insult him. He used to love seeing the way the emotions traveled across her face and shone in her eyes.

But she had come to him before asking for help in controlling her emotions and he couldn't help but see that it was needed if she wanted to continue as a shinobi. At first he'd done it so that he could embarrass her when she failed. Unfortunately for him she took it all in and changed. The others had always said she was a fast learner and an avid student.

"I see." Sakura murmured, more to herself than to him. "You'll be staying the night. You can go home in the morning." She took her fingers off of his head, writing something else on the scroll. "I suggest you lie down and sleep."

"Hai."

Sakura waited for him to do so and he merely crawled beneath the blankets, his face an emotionless mask. If it had been anyone else she would have laughed at the dour look they shot her. But it wasn't that Sai was trying to look nonchalant about being ordered into bed by the pink-haired girl. He was just following orders.

"Where are you going?"

Sakura turned from the doorway, her hand on the knob, clipboard tucked under one arm. "Eh?"

"Where are you going?" Sai repeated.

"I'm going to go check on my last patient for the night, why?"

"Just wondering."

Sakura's eyes narrowed a bit. "Oh? What's the real reason Sai?"

"I wondered if you were going to visit the Uchiha. His trial is tomorrow."

"No."

Sai nodded. "Sakura?"

It was still hard for her to get used to him calling her by her real name. She merely looked over her shoulder once more. "Hm?"

"If he returns as a shinobi, will my role as a member of team seven be finished?" His voice sounded almost worried.

"It wasn't a role." Sakura argued. "Unfortunately for you, you'll be a member of team seven until you die. That's how it works. No one leaves the team." And then she blinked as she realized just what she'd said.

_I'm such a damn hypocrite_. She thought sardonically. _I tell Sai he'll always be with us and yet I tell the others that Sasuke will never be a member of team seven again because he doesn't deserve it._

She left the room with a farewell to the black-haired man and stepped into the white-walled hallway. She placed the clipboard in the small holder on the door so that the medic who came to check up on Sai later that night would know about his condition.

_Our team is fucked up._ She realized at that exact moment. _I'm the most normal out of the group and that's saying something. Kakashi's the only non-Uchiha with the Sharingan and the student of the fourth Hokage, Naruto has the Kyuubi, Sai is an emotionless ANBU artist with a tendency for creating horrific nicknames, Yamato is one of Orochimaru's experiments gone wrong, and Sasuke is…well…Sasuke._

She continued down the hallway, stepping in front of the last door on her rounds. She could feel the chakra radiating from it but she ignored the fact. On the door was a warning: DO NOT ENTER. ENEMY SHINOBI IN DETAINMENT.

Sakura merely broke the seal on the door with the jutsu Tsunade had taught her before she opened it and walked inside. She replaced the seal on the door after she closed and locked it. Then she turned to look at the three shinobi lying on the beds in front of her.

"Nice to see you again, bitch." Karin snarled.

Sakura ignored her as she walked over to Juugo, who was staring out the window at the setting sun. His gaze was thoughtful.

"Hey Pinky." Suigetsu greeted. "I'd wave, but as you can see, that ain't going to happen." He motioned to the seals and bonds holding his arms and legs and strapping him to the bed.

Sakura nodded her head in greeting. She checked the burns on Suigetsu's body that had begun healing nicely. Thanks to the medical treatment from Shizune and the rest of the staff he wouldn't have any superficial scarring.

"Still hurts." Suigetsu commented as she looked over his condition. "I haven't got the chance to congratulate you on winning our fight." He grinned, showing off his pointed teeth.

Sakura nodded. "Arigato."

"Che. Like she could do anything." Karin muttered.

"She beat _me_." Suigetsu drawled.

"So." Karin taunted. "That probably isn't very difficult."

"Don't start." Suigetsu snapped, glaring. Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder, beginning to implant some chakra in him to take away the pain. The IV on the wall continued to feed him the constant water he apparently needed to survive.

"Did I tell you how much I hate needles?" Suigetsu asked.

"Shut up you pussy." Karin grunted.

Suigetsu snarled.

Sakura merely sighed.

"She did not merely beat Suigetsu, Karin. She also beat Sasuke-sama." Came Juugo's voice, cutting through the tense silence between his two teammates.

Karin blinked. "WHAT?"

Sakura looked to the last member of Hebi. "How did you know?"

He smiled softly. "The blonde-haired Kyuubi told me that you were powerful enough to defeat him and that you would probably be the one to meet him in battle as we fought."

Sakura nodded. "Hai. I fought and defeated Sasuke Uchiha."

"You're lying!" Karin gasped. "No one can defeat Sasuke! He has the _Sharingan_."

"So?" Sakura raised an eyebrow and gave her a level look.

"He can immediately counter and copy any move or jutsu you throw at him." Karin defended. "He's unbeatable and—"

"And you're a fool." Sakura finished for her. "Even if Sasuke Uchiha could copy my moves and jutsu, it would not have mattered. He's arrogant in his own powers and that led to his downfall."

"So you used Sasuke-sama's pride against him?" Juugo questioned.

Sakura shrugged. "Besides, Sasuke could not have copied any of my moves even if he had wanted to."

"Why not? You don't have a kekkei genkai." Karin stated, almost as if she were questioning the fact.

Sakura shook her head. "No. But I have perfect chakra control and he does not. Most of my jutsu take perfect chakra control to use."

"Ah." Suigetsu grinned broadly. "So you've defeated the undefeatable Sharingan! HA!"

Karin merely huffed.

Juugo smiled.

"You're different then during my interrogation." Karin's eyes narrowed.

"It was easier to get to you by acting as I did. I merely used the method I needed to obtain information." Sakura answered. "Tell me, how did the rest of your interrogation with Anko-san go?"

Karin hissed, giving a death glare at Sakura, who ignored it. She was used to glares. They were meaningless.

Sakura stopped in front of Juugo, sitting next to him on the bed. She wasn't worried that he'd suddenly have a meltdown, since the chakra seals and ropes would make it impossible for him to get off the bed.

"What are you going?" Juugo asked curiously.

"I'm going to check the state of your mind."

"No need. We all know he's insane." Karin snapped.

Sakura didn't even spare her a glance as she placed her fingertips to his temple. "I did not come to determine his sanity, merely to fix what has been broken."

"You can make him normal?" Suigetsu snorted. "No offense, but that doesn't sound possible."

Sakura shrugged. "Damaged minds have been known to be reparable. I cannot promise anything. However, it will help your trial if they know that Juugo is mentally stable."

"We're going to be executed." Karin whispered. That was the first time Sakura had seen her look afraid.

Sakura shrugged. "Perhaps."

"Why don't you just gloat and get it over with?" Karin growled.

Sakura's face remained emotionless. "I have nothing to gloat about. I merely did my job."

"Whatever." Karin muttered, looking away.

"You think we have a chance?" Suigetsu questioned.

Sakura merely continued focusing on Juugo. "Juugo-san, when I begin, the jutsu will put you in a trance, so please do not feel panicked. I will not invade the privacy of your mind, nor search through your memories unless need be."

"Why are you being so nice to him?" Karin asked.

Sakura noticed that the other two were looking at her for an answer as well. "I am a shinobi. I do not hate. What reason would I have for being hostile?"

Karin seemed to doubt her words, and Suigetsu seemed perplexed at them. Juugo gave a small smile, before he nodded at her to continue, "Thank you, Sakura-san."

Sakura nodded, beginning.

* * *

She opened her door with a sigh, closing it behind her. Her eyes were half-lidded and tired as her feet dragged against the floor. She dumped her coat, weapons, and medical pack by the door, not bothering to hang anything up.

She needed coffee.

Juugo's treatment had taken longer then she had expected. Healing the mind always took longer than healing the body. She had been reinforcing his ability to control which side took over. Control was the key element, which she'd told him over and over again as she'd worked.

She entered the small kitchen, pouring herself a cup of hot coffee. Wait, how could it be hot? She hadn't made any since that morning…

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura blinked, just then seeing the two shinobi sitting at her small kitchen table. Naruto was frowning at her, holding a pair of chopsticks in his hands. A bowl of ramen sat in front of him, and one sat in front of Kakashi as well, who was reading his book. He'd looked up when she'd entered, and she saw the concern there as well.

"Since you weren't able to cook, we took the liberty of making ramen." Kakashi drawled as he motioned to the bowl waiting for her at the table. Sakura slumped down into the chair, thanking them with a mumble.

"Tired?"

"Mmhm." She nodded as she propped her chin up with a hand, swirling the noodles in the bowl.

"You work too hard." Naruto grumbled in that motherly way of his. Sakura almost smiled at the tone.

"What happened at the interrogation today?"

Naruto jumped out of his seat excitedly. "Oh! I was going to come and tell you at the hospital when he told us but I wanted to stay for the entire interrogation…"

"And?" Sakura asked.

"He didn't like it."

Sakura's brows furrowed. "Didn't like what?"

"Torturing those children." Naruto grinned. "See, I told you!"

"He still tortured them." Sakura muttered. "And how do you know he didn't like it? Did he give his best smile and promise to be a good boy from now on?" She didn't like the sarcasm that entered her voice, but she was trying to ignore the small flutter of happiness at the news.

"You see, it was when Orochimaru still had him under the curse seal!" Naruto began explaining. "So there wasn't anything that he could have done."

"Can anyone prove it?" Sakura snapped.

Naruto blinked. "Eh? Sakura-chan, I thought you'd be happy to hear…"

Sakura stood up from her seat. "Yeah? Well it sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me. He's trying to save his own skin, that's all."

"Sakura…" Kakashi began.

Sakura merely walked out of the room. They heard her close the door to her bedroom, but the soft click was as affective as a slam.

Kakashi and Naruto exchanged a glance before getting up and beginning to clean off the dishes.

* * *

Sakura threw her shirt off, tossing it to the side of the room. Then she slipped off her pants, throwing on her overly-large sleeping shit that skimmed her thighs before she fell onto the bed. It hadn't taken long to do, and her body still hummed with anger.

She could hear the clanking of dishes in the kitchen and knew that Naruto and Kakashi were cleaning.

_They can't understand why I'm so angry…_She mumbled to herself. _But they don't get it. _

_I'm doing it to protect myself. _

_If for one moment I think that Sasuke can be saved then I'm lost. He'll have me in his trap and I'll never be able to get free. I'll become that idiot twelve-year-old girl again. The one who loved him unconditionally._

_I won't let that happen._ She thought furiously.

_Never._

She wrapped herself up in her blankets, glaring into the darkness. She could tell that the dishes had been finished and that Kakashi was saying goodbye to Naruto. Then she heard soft footsteps before the door opened. There was a dip in the bed as someone sat on the edge.

"Sakura, we need to talk."

Sakura had thought that Kakashi had left. Apparently Naruto had been the one to leave.

"We don't have anything to talk about." Sakura whispered.

"Yes. We do." Kakashi continued stubbornly. "Ibiki and Anko were both there. They said he wasn't lying."

"I know." Sakura whispered, and he heard the soft catch in her voice.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and she didn't shrug it off. Kakashi continued, "Why are you afraid that he's innocent?"

"Because he'll come back." Sakura murmured.

"And that's bad?" Kakashi asked, surprised. "Isn't that what you wanted all along?"

"It's what _Naruto_ wanted."

Kakashi nodded, feeling sadness well inside of him. She was becoming just like himself, holding everyone at arm's length. Never letting anyone too close. What had happened to the emotional, cheerful girl he had once known?

"You hate him and yet you're becoming just like him, Sakura."

Sakura stiffened at that, but said nothing.

Kakashi laid down on the bed, "Would you like me to stay the night?"

"Just don't be perverted."

Kakashi chuckled. "I'll use my own blanket and keep my hands to myself, I promise." He gave her a quick hug before lying on his back, staring up at her ceiling. She didn't move.

"You'll be asked to testify at his trial tomorrow."

"Hai."

"…what will you tell them?"

…

…

…

"The truth."

* * *

**(A\N: Well, the next chapter will be the trial. Ooooo…the tension is killing me. :)**

**Now you all understand how Sakura's feeling, I hope. I hope you all liked the genjutsu scene. I think that Sakura wouldn't have known she'd put the last part of the genjutsu on, but I think that because deep down she really DOES care that it came out anyway. Or that's my reasoning anyway…**

**And no, Kakashi is not a pervert. He's just worried about Sakura like Naruto. She'd like a daughter to him. I think that after Sasuke left they would all definitely become really close, because they're team seven and that should explain everything. :)**

**Well, I hope you liked it. Until next time, see ya!  
Sincerely, Lady Hanaka**

**Pick-up line: Could you please step away from the bar? You're melting all the ice.)**


	9. Chapter 8: Trials and Tribulations

**Chapter 8**

**Trials and Tribulations**

She awoke early that morning. She didn't know why, but her internal alarm clock seemed to have decided that today was a day she definitely couldn't be late. She gave a soft sigh as she stepped out of the shower, feeling a bit nervous about the trial.

She promised Kakashi she'd tell the truth. She knew what that meant, and so did he. If she told the truth then there was a good chance Sasuke's trial would not end well. She grabbed the towel from the back of her chair, rubbing her wet hair vigorously as she walked out of her small apartment room and down the hallway.

She hurriedly gulped some water as she raked a hand through her still slightly damp hair.

"Hello Sakura, I see you're up early."

Sakura blinked to look at the two people standing in the doorway. Sai was smiling his fake smile and Yamato was looking everywhere but at her. Sakura gave an inward smirk. She understood the reason that Yamato was so uncomfortable. She was standing in the middle of the hallway in only her bra and underwear, a towel draped over her shoulders.

"Make yourselves at home." Sakura gestured to the couch, "I'm going to go get dressed."

She didn't wait to see if the two listened, merely walked into her bedroom. She heard them sit down on the couch, and then there was silence. She knew they were waiting for her. All of Team Kakashi had decided to walk to the courtroom together. Of course Sakura had agreed when she'd seen Naruto's face. But she didn't like it. It made her feel as if she were standing up for and protecting Sasuke. And she wasn't. He was going to get what he deserved for what he had done—not just to her, but to Konoha.

She took off the towel. It felt so strange, to be able to dry off her hair so easily. She kind of liked it. No more worrying over whether to put it in a ponytail or leave it down like before. Ino had been devastated when she'd seen Sakura's hair, but that was Ino for you. But even Hinata and Tenten had seemed wary of the new Sakura haircut. And Sakura knew it was because it made the transformation complete. The new and improved Sakura Haruno—every inch of her the true shinobi.

She was supposed to dress in her full shinobi regalia, since this was a formal occasion. So she slipped on her shirt, zipping up her green vest over it. Next came her pants. She tied her kunai pouch to the side like always. It was a comforting weight.

Then she bent down and tied her sandals with slow, deliberate steps. She recited the shinobi code to herself to keep the nervousness from entering her mind.

_I do not feel. _

She tugged on a black glove over her right hand. She stretched her fingers, limbering them under the tight fabric.

_I do not regret. _

The cold feel of the metal insignia placed upon the back of the glove seeped down to her skin. It was a nice reminder to her that in this world, things were cold and unfeeling. That was life.

_I do not love._

She pulled on her second glove and the light from her window glinted off the steal, illuminating the Konoha symbol etched upon its surface.

_I am a tool of destruction. _

She placed a few medical scrolls into the holster on her vest out of habit. She was going into battle today, but not the physical kind. She would be testing her mind and pushing it to its breaking point.

_I am a dancer of death._

She grabbed the last remaining item from the bed, the most important one. She slipped on her headband, tying it deftly around her forehead. This was what she lived for now. Konoha. She was a shinobi of Konohagakure and she would die a shinobi of Konohagakure.

_I am an artist of battle._

She shut off all of her emotions one by one. It was frightening how easy that was these days. She heard a knock at her door and then the loud voice of Naruto and Kakashi's lazy drawl.

_I am a thief of lives._

She was now once again Sakura Haruno: emotionless Jônin and interrogation shinobi of Konoha, apprentice medic-nin to the Gondaime Hokage Tsunade. No one could make her show her emotion again. Not even Sasuke Uchiha.

She walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. She entered the living room and they all looked up at her. All were dressed the same as she, in their Konoha vests and their headband placed upon their foreheads.

None of them spoke as they saw the hard jade glint of her eyes. She stepped up beside them as they all stood.

_I am shinobi_.

* * *

The courtroom was buzzing with activity as they entered. At the sight of the former teammates of Sasuke Uchiha the room became eerily silent. Sakura ignored it, but Naruto shuffled uncomfortably. Kakashi placed a hand on both of their shoulders. Sakura shrugged it off, but Naruto looked back at his sensei and smiled.

They took their seats beside the other members of the Konoha 12 and their former senseis, all dressed in full Konoha uniform. The room was a sea of olive green and navy blue. They were seated up on a balcony overlooking the main floor, where one empty seat stood in the middle of the room. Four other seats, also unoccupied, were seated against the side of one wall.

Tsunade was sitting in the balcony seat right in front of the empty center chair, wearing her full Hokage outfit. Beside her were two seats filled by the elders Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, both looking grim.

The Konoha council were seated in elevated chairs on the balcony in a circular patter, surrounding the main floor, which was also built in a circular shape.

"I'm nervous." Naruto whispered.

"Ah don't be." Shikamaru drawled. "I may not like the guy too much, but Uchiha Sasuke will get out of all of this unscathed."

"How do you know that?" Sai asked curiously. "Surely he will be executed for his crimes."

"No." Neji shook his head. "Even if he is found guilty, Sasuke Uchiha won't be executed."

"Why not?" Ino asked.

"Because he's the last Uchiha besides Itachi." Sakura answered back blandly. The others turned to look at her as Neji and Shikamaru nodded in agreement. "It is Konoha's duty to protect the last of the Uchiha Clan, even if he is a traitor."

There was a long moment of silence.

Ino finally shrugged as she grumbled. "Well I hope they throw him in a dark pit somewhere." But Sakura knew her heart wasn't in it. Deep down all the members of the Konoha 12 were hoping that Sasuke Uchiha would get off. Perhaps it was because their little group had never felt complete with him missing. Sakura didn't know.

They only thing she did know was that she was the only person among them who didn't want him to be found innocent.

Ibiki and Anko made their way towards Sakura. They sat a few seats down and Sakura excused herself from the nervous ramblings of her fellow year mates to go and speak with them.

Anko grinned as Sakura sat down beside her. "We got him Sakura. There is no way he's getting off innocent."

Sakura nodded. "But he won't be killed." It was a statement, not a question.

…

…

…

"No. He won't." Ibiki answered, before the door opened and several ANBU walked inside, escorting four shinobi. Most of the others in Konoha had never seen Karin, Suigetsu, or Juugo, but those that had heard of them recognized them instantly.

"Is that the whore who likes Sasuke?" Ino asked, and Sakura could hear it even from where she sat with Ibiki and Anko. There were a few muffled snickers and Sakura sent up a small prayer asking for patience. Ino could be so immature at times.

The last person to be led in was Sasuke. He stood tall and proud, every inch an Uchiha. It irked Sakura. She wanted to see him shake. She wanted him to be afraid. He and the others were seated in the four seats to the side.

Tsunade stood and the room became deathly silent.

"Let the trial of Uchiha Sasuke and team Hebi begin."

* * *

The trial for team Hebi went first. Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi were sent to the stand to testify and give their accounts on what had happened during their battles with the three members. It went rather smoothly for them, since it was proven they were merely following Sasuke's orders. The unspoken decision was made: they would merely share the same fate as their leader Sasuke.

Then Tsunade had called Sasuke to the stand. She'd made him give his account of his life ever since leaving Konoha and his reasons for doing so. His replies were cold, calculated, and quite frankly, predictable.

"Why did you leave Konohagakure?"

"For revenge."

"Were there any ulterior motives?"

"No."

It went on and on, with short, clipped answer. The bare minimum of facts.

Then the team that had been sent to rescue Sasuke, the one that had been lead by Shikamaru, was asked to give their own facts. Sakura was slowly growing annoyed at the small hints they all dropped. Hints that stated: Sasuke didn't do anything wrong, he just made a mistake. Let's give him a second chance. We all make mistakes.

There were no such things as second chances in the shinobi world. If you got it wrong the first time you were dead.

And then Naruto had been called to the stand. Even Sakura couldn't deny that his words seemed to sing true. And he spoke with such fervor and conviction…he even had the guts to make Sasuke sound like the victim. Sakura inwardly scoffed. Naruto was as naïve as always. He stilled believed that Sasuke was his old best friend.

_People change, Naruto. Get used to it._ She whispered to herself.

Even Kakashi spoke a bit too admirably of Sasuke for Sakura's taste. He even had the nerve to make it sound like it was _his_ fault that Sasuke had turned. That perhaps he hadn't taught his team correctly.

How absurd. Sakura was itching to throw in her two cents. While Konoha took all of the others statements in stride, everyone was waiting for Sakura to be called to speak. She was every inch a Konoha shinobi, who only had the best interests of Konoha at heart. She would tell them what they needed to know. She would fill the small breaks and gaps in the stories the others had told.

She would tell the complete and whole truth.

"Haruno Sakura, please step forward."

* * *

Sakura gave a small nod at Tsunade, standing and walking towards the empty seat in front of the council. She felt the eyes of everyone on her, and knew that Sasuke's entire trial rested on her words, here and now. It was a bit unsettling, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.

Twelve-year-old Sakura would have snapped beneath all the pressure. But the new Sakura, emotionless and unfazed, merely sat down in the chair provided her and waited for Tsunade to continue.

"Haruno Sakura, tell us about your relationship with Uchiha Sasuke." Tsunade continued.

Sakura knew that every single person in the room knew that they had been teammates but this was protocol, so she merely remained emotionless as she spoke, not sparing a glance at Sasuke who was only a few feet away.

"Uchiha Sasuke and I were both members of Team Seven along with Uzumaki Naruto and our sensei Hatake Kakashi." Sakura answered. She knew that both of them were watching her right now, anxious at what she would say. They wanted their teammate back.

"In your time as his teammate, what did you notice about Uchiha Sasuke's personality and behavior?"

"Uchiha Sasuke was always an emotionally obscure person." Sakura spoke casually. "When we were teammates he always kept his emotions well hidden. He tolerated Uzumaki Naruto and myself on a minimal level at the beginning of our time together because we were not strong enough to be worthy teammates, I would presume. We were a, how shall I put it? A _burden_ to him."

* * *

Naruto felt hurt at those words; even if he knew that they were true. In the beginning Sakura and he had both been merely a hindrance to their prodigal teammate.

_But that changed, Sakura-chan! …didn't it?_

* * *

Tsunade cleared her throat, looking to Sasuke who remained as emotionless as Sakura. "Haruno Sakura, as your team progressed, did Uchiha Sasuke change?"

"Uchiha Sasuke's relationship with Uzumaki Naruto and our sensei Hatake Kakashi grew, yes." Sakura nodded.

* * *

Naruto noticed that she said nothing about herself, and he was sure that everyone else in the room did as well. He was angry at Sasuke for making Sakura go through all this; tell the entire room that she had been too weak for Sasuke Uchiha to even notice her as his teammate.

He'd never really noticed it before, how much that must have hurt her to see Sasuke acknowledge Kakashi and himself, but always view her as an annoying thing they had to protect on missions. Naruto had always thought that Sakura hadn't cared that they protected her. It was because they cared, right?

That was, until that fight between Sakura and Sasuke when all of their roles changed and Naruto stood in that same spot where Sakura had previously stood her entire life. It had been horrible. And he now knew how helpless Sakura had always felt. It hurt.

* * *

"And what of his relationship with _you_?"

Sakura's smirk almost became sardonic, but her face faded back to an emotionless mask. "I was still a burden to him, Hokage-sama."

"Ah." Tsunade nodded, looking a bit miffed at the answer. "Tell us Haruno Sakura, have you always known that Uchiha Sasuke was emotionally unstable?"

Sakura looked up at her almost quizzically. "Anyone who has witnessed the murder of their entire clan would have a strong basis for emotional instability, Hokage-sama. Also, the aftereffect of the Tsukuyomi would cause emotional stress.Uchiha Sasuke was subjected to that jutsu twice, I believe."

* * *

Kakashi almost smiled at that. Sakura could have said something about how dangerous Sasuke's mental instability was, or that he had turned evil like Orochimaru and that was the reason for his criminal insanity. But Sakura had promised the truth, and she had meant it, apparently.

Even if it hurt her to defend him.

_That's my girl._

* * *

"What reasons do you believe Uchiha Sasuke had for leaving Konohagakure to become a missing-nin with Orochimaru?"

Sakura snorted derisively, eyes half-lidded as if this question were an easy one. "There are two things that drive Uchiha Sasuke: power and revenge. I would presume he left the village under the pretense of becoming stronger with the late Sannin Orochimaru until he could defeat his brother Itachi Uchiha and avenge the Uchiha Clan."

"What would make you come to this conclusion?"

"On our first day as Hatake Kakashi's team he asked each of us what our likes, dislikes, and goals were. Uchiha Sasuke's only answer was that he wished to kill a 'certain person'. That person is Uchiha Itachi, of course." Sakura drawled. "Uchiha Sasuke would sacrifice his best friend in order to gain enough power to kill his brother, as can be seen from his attempts at killing Uzumaki Naruto."

"And why would that help him gain power?"

"Uchiha Sasuke wants the Mangekyou Sharingan, Hokage-sama. To do that he must kill his best friend."

There was a small ripple of interest through the crowd. Sakura saw Sasuke shoot her a glance, but her eyes remained on Tsunade. He must have been surprised that she knew such things. But Sakura had been sent to search the entire Uchiha compound in hopes of discovering the reason for Sasuke's betrayal. She had run across the scroll of the Uchiha family secrets.

* * *

_So he…he wanted to kill me for a stronger eye jutsu?_ Naruto thought weakly. _That was the extent of my use to him, then?_

_You were such a fool, Sasuke._ Kakashi thought sadly. _There are other ways of gaining the Mangekyou. I could have taught you, if you had let me..._

* * *

"However," Sakura continued, not liking the fact that she had to tell them this. "Uchiha Sasuke has always refrained from killing Uzumaki Naruto for the very same reason that Uchiha Itachi killed Uchiha Shisui. The bond he shared with him was too strong."

"So you believe that Uchiha Sasuke still has feelings for his teammates?"

"Uchiha Sasuke has always stated that he will not let anyone harm those who are precious to him. His views on that subject are up for debate of course, since his ethics have surely changed since we were genin." She promised she'd tell the truth, and she'd tell it.

Tsunade swallowed, wetting her throat. "Were you included in his list of precious people, Haruno Sakura?"

Sakura nodded. "I believe I once was, during the Chûnin Exam."

"And afterwards?"

"I couldn't say, Hokage-sama. It seemed as if I had merely become a burden again." Sakura's voice was still cold, with no hint of what she was feeling.

"And now?"

"After battling with Uchiha Sasuke, I realized that he wished to sever all emotional ties he held to his village." Sakura answered back. "He was going to kill Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, and myself in hopes that he would become strong enough to kill his brother."

"What happened during that battle that changed his mind, Sakura?"

"Nothing." Sakura spoke blandly. "If I had not defeated him he would have mostly likely gone through with his threat."

There was a moment of silence as the council looked from Sakura, to Sasuke. They were like mirror images of each other: emotionless, implacable, and unmoving.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.

* * *

_This is going from bad to worse._ Naruto thought, giving a small groan. He ignored the looks from the rest of the shinobi around him. He knew that the only two people in this room who wanted Sasuke to be declared innocent were himself and Kakashi, but it was still hard to have the others feel such hatred towards his teammate.

_I promised myself I could never become Hokage unless I brought my best friend back. You still are my best friend, Sasuke. Don't…don't ever ruin that…please…_

_And Sakura…oh god Sakura…no more. I can't stand seeing my two most precious people torn apart like this. Don't. Please don't…_

* * *

…

…

….

Tsunade cleared her throat once more. "During the battle, did you give Uchiha Sasuke the choice of coming back to Konohagakure willingly to help us fight against Cloud?"

"Hai."

"What was his answer?"

"As you can tell by the battle that ensued, Uchiha Sasuke declined the offer, Hokage-sama." There was almost a hint of dark humor present in her voice. Almost.

"I see." Tsunade felt as if all hope for Naruto's best friend was slowly slipping away. Tsunade had known how much Naruto's teammates meant to him, but it seemed as if this day would determine which teammate he would have and which would leave beyond his grasp forever. _I wish you wouldn't have to choose, Naruto, but I think you'll have to. Sakura or Sasuke. One of them will be lost to you forever after this day._

It wasn't Sakura's fault. Sasuke's actions were what were killing him.

"Did Uchiha Sasuke ever harm any Konoha shinobi while he was a missing-nin?"

…

…

…

"Hai."

* * *

_Don't do it Sakura!_ Naruto wailed silently, eyes filled with despair. _Please don't…_

Kakashi had a sinking feeling that any hope Sasuke had ever had was disappearing quickly. Even the Konoha 12 looked disheartened at Sakura's answer, exchanging furtive glances.

* * *

Tsunade breathed in deeply. "Explain."

"He first harmed his teammate Uzumaki Naruto when he and several other Genin as well as the Chûnin Nara Shikamaru went to rescue him from the Sound Four."

* * *

Naruto didn't like the way Sakura put Naruto as 'his teammate' instead of 'my teammate'. It disheartened him.

* * *

"Continue."

"I have records from several Sound shinobi I have interrogated that state that Uchiha Sasuke has helped in torturing several Konoha shinobi, including ANBU that were later sent to retrieve him."

* * *

Naruto had felt his heart dropping into his stomach at each one of Sakura's answers, but this one made him feel sick. She was right, but it wasn't helping Sasuke's case.

_But he didn't do it on purpose Sakura-chan! Please…oh god please…save him Sakura-chan…_

* * *

Tsunade saw that all Sasuke's hopes were crushed with those words, and knew that this trial was over, sadly. _I'm sorry Naruto. There's no help for him now. _"That is all we need to know then—" Tsunade began, but was cut off as Sakura continued.

"However, I have it from several sources that Uchiha Sasuke was under the curse seal's influence on all accounts, so therefore, the injuries he wrought upon Konoha shinobi are null and void."

There was another long moment of silence.

…

….

…

Sakura was _defending_ Sasuke?

* * *

Kakashi and Naruto just stared, unsure of what was happening. It seemed as if their dwindling hope was slowly coming back.

The other shinobi in the room looked just as surprised, the council exchanging glances.

The Konoha 12 looked from Sakura, to Sasuke, to Naruto and Kakashi.

* * *

"Ex—_excuse_ me?" Tsunade sputtered.

"Uchiha Sasuke has never harmed another Konoha shinobi while in his right, sane mind. He left Konohagakure to avenge his Clan. He did not perform a criminal offense against Konohagakure except by leaving the village." Everyone in the room could see how much it was affecting Sakura to say those words.

"Are you saying that Uchiha Sasuke would not be a threat to this village if he were reinstated?"

The entire room held its breath, waiting for Sakura's reply. Even Sasuke had turned to stare at her.

…

…

…

"I believe that if Uchiha Sasuke's seal is resealed and he is given the option of avenging his Clan if he stays with Konohagakure he will do nothing to put the safety of this village in jeopardy."

The words seemed almost physically painful, or that's what it looked like to Kakashi. He had seen Sakura's emotions warring with one another beneath her emotionless façade. Anyone who didn't know her wouldn't have seen the eternal struggle there, but he had.

He was elated with the fact that Sakura was protecting Sasuke. Did she still have feelings for him?

And then he remember that Sakura had promised she would save Sasuke for Naruto. She would bring back his best friend for him.

But where would that leave Sakura?

* * *

Tsunade swallowed, "Very well. The council will now leave and deliberate upon the case of Uchiha Sasuke."

Sakura slowly walked back to her place beside Anko and Ibiki. The others watched her, saw the way she walked stiffly. She didn't make eye contact with anyone. She just sat down and waited.

There was silence as all of them looked to the clock and then to the door the council had left through, waiting for them to return.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto walked up to her and everyone in the room turned to watch.

…

"Arigato Sakura-chan."

…

Naruto was hurt by her silence, as she merely stared down at the ground in front of her. He knew that she had done it for him, and he hadn't known that anyone had loved him like that. But she did. They were family, and families sacrificed themselves for each other.

Sakura had always sacrificed her own happiness for others.

"I am proud of you, Sakura." Kakashi answered from beside Naruto.

She still said nothing. She didn't twitch or sigh or move at all to give them confirmation that she heard what they were saying. But they knew she heard everything.

Naruto and Kakashi finally went back to their seats after several minutes of standing in front of her chair, waiting for anything.

Karin and Suigetsu shifted uncomfortably in their seats, while Juugo was merely thoughtful. Sasuke's face betrayed nothing. They all remained silent, however, and the feeling of dread filled the air above them.

* * *

Hours passed, and everyone continued to turn and look at Sakura from time to time. The room buzzed softly with conversation, but she remained in the same position she had been in since the beginning, looking down at the ground in front of her, face an emotionless mask.

Naruto felt as if he were going to explode from impatience.

And then the door opened.

The council members walked into the room to their respective seats, their faces betraying nothing. Tsunade remained standing as the others sat. She looked around the room, her eyes catching on Naruto's and Kakashi's. She couldn't catch Sakura's eye, because she was still staring down at the ground.

…

…

…

"Uchiha Sasuke, please stand."

He did so.

Tsunade unraveled the scroll she held and read.

…

…

…

"Uchiha Sasuke, you have been found guilty of treason to Konohagakure."

* * *

**(A\N: Yes, yes, I know, it's an evil cliffhanger. I decided to be malicious today. :)**

**I hope you all enjoyed it. I myself was quite happy with the outcome. Yeah, and I made that shinobi code up. It just kind of came to me...**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka**

**Pick-up line: They say to never judge a book by its cover. So why don't we take off your coverings, and let me judge you in the morning?)**


	10. Chapter 9: Picking up the Pieces

**Chapter 9**

**Picking up the Pieces**

_The council members walked into the room to their respective seats, their faces betraying nothing. Tsunade remained standing as the others sat. She looked around the room, her eyes catching on Naruto's and Kakashi's. She couldn't catch Sakura's eye, because she was still staring down at the ground._

_…_

_…_

_…_

_"Uchiha Sasuke, please stand."_

_He did so._

_Tsunade unraveled the scroll she held and read._

_…_

_…_

_…_

_"Uchiha Sasuke, you have been found guilty of treason to Konohagakure."_

* * *

The room was filled with a shocked silence as everyone turned to stare at Tsunade.

Even Sakura lifted her head to stare at her shishou, a look of confusion passing across her emotionless face.

The Konoha twelve were sitting with their mouths open. Naruto leapt up, face outraged and hurt.

"That isn't fair Tsunade-baachan!" His voice was panicked. "You can't execute him! You c-can't!"

Tsunade shot him a glare, which shut up Naruto momentarily. "Uzumaki, sit _down_." She snapped. Naruto would have opened his mouth to yell back but Choji and Kiba pulled him back down into his chair and Ino put a hand over his mouth hissing out, "don't talk, you idiot!"

Tsunade waited until Naruto was properly restrained before she spoke again, looking to Sasuke—who seemed to be taking the verdict in stride, to his three teammates. Karin was biting her lip, as if to keep from crying. Suigetsu was staring down at his hands, and Juugo closed his eyes with a sigh.

"The council has agreed that the proper punishment for Uchiha Sasuke and his teammates is this: they shall be stripped of all shinobi status until further notice, with a two-year probationary term. Afterwards Uchiha Sasuke will be allowed to hunt for his brother with a well equipped ANBU team. Team Hebi will be allowed to stay in Konohagakure under a shinobi guard until their intentions have been evaluated." Tsunade almost smiled at the looks the shinobi in the room shot her—including Sasuke and his team.

Karin's jaw had literally hit the floor, and Suigetsu's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his skull. Juugo just seemed confused at the whole ordeal. Sasuke's eyes had widened for a fraction of a second before he became emotionless once more.

"He won't be executed!?" Naruto asked excitedly.

Tsunade finally gave a grin. "No. He won't be executed."

"Teme's back!!!!" Naruto jumped up from his seat, dancing around. "Teme's back!"

The rest of the Konoha 12 stood to cheer.

"Party time!" Ino shrieked.

The others hurried to agree. The room was buzzing with excitement as the ANBU guards undid the seals upon Sasuke and his team.

The only one who wasn't celebrating was Sakura who merely stood, face emotionless. She stuffed her hands into her pockets, walking to the door.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinning as he ran up to her. "Sakura-chan we did it! And it's all thanks to you! Teme's safe because of you!"

There was a moment of silence as everyone in the room turned to look at her. She remained emotionless, her tone bland as she spoke.

"Congratulations, Uzumaki Naruto. You have your best friend back." And then she walked out of the room.

There was a moment of hurt silence as Naruto's face scrunched up and a few tears swam in his ocean blue eyes. She'd fulfilled her promise to him. Now she seemed to be walking out of his life forever, as if it had been her last debt to him to be repaid.

Sasuke watched her go, some unknown emotion flashing through his eyes before it disappeared.

Tsunade looked from Naruto to the door that Sakura had walked through. _I knew you would lose one of them, Naruto. I'm so sorry…_

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto made to run after her, but Kakashi gave a small sigh and shook his head.

"She needs time to think, Naruto." His eyes trailed to the stoic Uchiha. "I think she'll need a while to cope with all this change."

Naruto nodded slowly, before he gave a shaky smile. "Let's go welcome teme back, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi smiled from beneath his mask. "Let's go." And the two walked down to where Sasuke and his team stood, the others following.

* * *

Sakura sat in her bed, blankets wrapped tightly around herself. _Damn you…damn you all…_ She didn't know whom she was damning, but she didn't really care at the moment. She just needed to yell or break something. Instead, she let herself cry. One emotion was enough.

She was surprised she _could_ cry. Ino had often joked that Sakura's didn't have actual tear ducts anymore.

Naruto hadn't come running after her. Part of her was relieved. But she was also deeply hurt. She knew he must be at the party with their old friends—_his_ friends, welcoming back Sasuke.

They were probably sitting at a table, laughing and joking. Shikamaru would be talking tactics with Shino and Neji.

Hinata would be blushing while she listened, enraptured, to another one of Naruto's wild tales.

Choji, Lee, Tenten, Ino and Kiba would probably be dragging Sasuke into one of their nonsensical drinking games. He'd deny it of course. Maybe Sasuke's teammates would join in the festivities.

Ino would be trying to hit on Sasuke, no doubt. She didn't like him anymore, but she'd probably do it just for the sake of flirting.

Sakura couldn't help but give a small smile, however dry it may have seemed. That would ruffle Karin's feathers. She could just picture Karin steaming, latched onto Sasuke's arm. He'd have that annoyed look on his face, too. It was probably the whole reason why Ino would flirt with Sasuke in the first place.

Kakashi and Gai would probably be having one of their little contests—Gai's idea of course, and Yamato would be the referee. Asuma would be with Kurenai. They'd be in a small corner, talking and holding hands as they pretended to pay attention to everyone else.

Sai would probably be giving Sasuke and team Hebi nonsensical nicknames.

And Sakura was sitting in her room.

Alone.

Sakura grabbed the beer from the side of the table, taking a long swig. _Cheers._ She seemed to have picked up her shishou's drinking habits. She never drank more than one beer, usually, but tonight she wondered if she should maybe get drunk.

No. That wouldn't solve her problems.

Sakura wrapped her arms around her knees, which she had brought up to her chest.

She wondered if there was anything that could solve her problems. Even if she'd won the case for Sasuke and Naruto, why did it feel like she had lost?

Sakura merely slipped out of her clothing, leaving herself in her chest bindings and her underwear before pulling the blankets around her as she curled into a little ball. She stared out the window at the moon, her mind brooding.

_I'm not like them Sasuke…I won't forgive you so easily. I don't know if I can _ever_ forgive you._

_Don't expect my sympathy. I won't welcome you with open arms._

_You're still a traitor in my eyes._

She tried to be happy for Naruto and Kakashi. They had their teammate back.

That would be the right thing to do…Sakura's hand wrung the blanket. Then her fingers relaxed, as she gave a sad smile. A genuine one, but a sad one. Her eyes filled with despair and sadness, as well as a bit of irony, as she gave a small sigh.

She could at least pretend to be happy. She could scream and cry and shout in her mind, as long as she kept anyone else from noticing. As long as, on the outside, she pretended not to care.

She'd already masked her emotions once. What was one more mask?

_Team seven will never be whole again. There's too much pain between us now. _

_I'm sorry Naruto._

* * *

The party was just like Sakura had described it.

"C'mon teme!" Naruto hiccupped as he took another sip of his beer. "Live it up! It ain't every day ya get to get drunk as a skunk! Hey, tha' rhymed!"

Hinata smiled at him. Unlike the others, she had only drank a few sips of her beer—at Naruto's request. She was probably the only halfway sober one there. And that wasn't saying much, because she was starting to feel tipsy. She didn't have a high alcohol tolerance after all. At least it wasn't as bad as Lee's. The poor guy couldn't even have a drink. He was sipping a glass of tea, not understanding why everyone was acting so strangely.

"Hn."

Tenten, Naruto, Ino, Choji, and Kiba were singing a rather lewd drinking song—and surprisingly Suigetsu was signing along with them. There had been a bit of awkwardness in the beginning when the rest of team Hebi had arrived with Sasuke at the bar. But after a couple drinks everyone had loosened up considerably.

"C'mon Sasuke-kun!" Karin giggled, flushed from the drinks as she hung on his arm. "Let's go dance!"

"Ha!" Ino snorted. "He wouldn't dance with you if you were the last woman alive, Karin. _Naruto_ has a better chance of gettin' into his pants."

That caused Naruto to burst into laughter, while Sasuke shot him a dubious look and Karin glared at Ino, who merely smiled evilly.

"Ha! I'll drink more than you, Kakashi! And then it will secure my victory of 67 wins to your 66!" Gai grinned.

"You're on." Kakashi commented coolly.

"Chug it! Chug it!" Kurenai and Asuma cheered, both a bit tipsy as well.

If any of them had been thinking clearly they would have taken this time to look at Kakashi's face beneath his mask, but they were all too drunk to realize he didn't have it on, and they probably wouldn't have remembered what he looked like in the morning anyway.

Juugo was staring at them all, perplexed at the entire situation. He had decided not to drink either, and he, Yamato, and Lee were merely sitting to the side of the room, commenting on how weird everyone acted when they were drunk.

Shino, Neji, and Shikamaru were murmuring amongst themselves over what looked like a battle strategy, but all three were a bit red in the face from their drinks and seemed to have a hard time focusing on the drawing for more than a few minutes at a time.

Sai was sitting with them, giving a comment every once and a while with that fake smile of his. Out of all of them he seemed to least effected by the alcohol—well, him and Sasuke. Both of them were as emotionless as before.

He was currently thinking up nicknames for Sasuke and his team and was having no luck. He'd have to consult his books again later that night to come up with something that fit.

Sasuke gave a small sigh as he took a sip of his glass. He was silently thankful that Ino was dragging Karin into a nonsensical argument about who would have a better chance of having sex with him. He'd noticed, however, that Ino didn't have a crush on him anymore. He was also silently thankful for _that_. One fangirl was _more_ than enough.

_I wonder what Sakura's doing right now._

_Hn. It doesn't matter._

His jaw tightened as he gave a soft sigh. _Training with Kakashi and Naruto is going to become difficult now. Especially if Sakura keeps avoiding me._

A part of him realized that training with Sakura would probably help him even more than training with some of the others. She had defeated him. He had to beat her if he was going to regain his honor. It had stung his pride a bit that he'd been beaten by the weakest kunoichi of the Konoha 12.

Deep down he had always realized that Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura meant more to him than just teammates. They were family. And it had angered him—no, it had frightened him. His family had been killed long ago. One side of him was mad at himself for finding their replacement so quickly; while another was afraid he'd lose them just like he had his real family.

_Naruto and even Kakashi seem to have accepted me back without a second thought…_he gave an annoyed sigh. _Why is Sakura acting so cold? What happened to her after I left?_

* * *

Around four in the morning, the only people left in the bar were Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi. ANBU had come to ask the other members of team Hebi to go and speak with the Hokage.

Lee had taken the unconscious Gai home after he'd lost the little drinking contest with Kakashi. Kurenai, Shikamaru, Neji, Shino, and Kiba had all left earlier in the night due to missions.

The others had slowly dispersed until only the three original members of team seven remained.

"So, now that you're not a ninja anymore you'll have to start off as an academy student." Naruto snickered at Sasuke. "How hilarious it _that_?"

"Hn."

"I can just picture you sitting in a room with all those little kids." Naruto guffawed once more, taking another drink of his beer.

"Does Sakura have a mission tomorrow?" Sasuke asked casually.

Kakashi and Naruto both blinked. Naruto shook his head, "Nah. I don't think so…" he trailed off, and Sasuke saw the pain well up in his eyes at the thought of their missing teammate. At the sound of her name the room had felt empty.

"So she will be at training tomorrow." Sasuke stated.

Kakashi shrugged. "Sakura doesn't always come to training anymore. She has rounds at the hospital as well as her work at the interrogation base."

Sasuke winced a bit at the mention of that place. If he never had to go back it would be too soon.

"Tomorrow we're going out for ramen at Ichiraku." Naruto grinned. "And don't worry, Sakura-chan will be there. She promised."

_And she never breaks a promise._

Those words hung above the three of them, unspoken but understood.

"That was before I was found innocent, dobe." Sasuke muttered.

"Ha!" Naruto snorted. "It doesn't matter. She'll come."

Kakashi nodded, "She just needs time, Sasuke."

"Then we'll be team seven again!" Naruto cheered. "And you didn't get to talk to Sai and Yamato, did you? They're cool too. Although Sai can be an ass."

"Hn." Sasuke had heard that Sai had been his replacement. He already disliked him. He'd disliked him even more after hearing that everyone thought the two of them resembled each other.

_I don't look like that._ He thought grumpily. The alcohol was starting to affect him after all.

"Tomorrow I'm gonna kick your ass, teme." Naruto continued. "And then you can get Sakura to heal you afterwards. You guys can play _doctor_." He winked, apparently thinking his little joke was hilarious. Kakashi just sighed and Sasuke merely raised an eyebrow.

Of course, he couldn't get the image of Sakura in a skimpy nurse's outfit out of his head.

* * *

She awoke the next morning to the sound of her alarm. She turned it off slowly and deliberately, slipping out of bed. She headed into her shower, taking off her chest bindings and underwear as she went. She looked down at her body with a small sigh of despair.

She would never get rid of the scars. She could feel the ones on her back, from missions that seemed to have happened an eternity before. They tingled as she traced the new one on her hand from Sasuke's chidori. Tsunade said it would disappear almost completely, but Sakura would always know it was there. And it would always still be visible, even if just a little bit. A reminder.

As if she needed another one.

Sakura would never be flawless and beautiful. She'd given up that thought years before, however. She knew she wasn't pretty like Ino and she didn't try and pretend that she was. The others merely told her she was beautiful to make her feel better, even if it was unneeded.

If men stared, it was merely because of her bright pink hair.

She stopped looking at herself in the mirror for a second at that thought, eyes darkening. _No, I suppose that isn't true. I was pretty enough for_ _those_ _missions, after all._

Sakura stepped into the shower, washing away her worries and early morning thoughts. She would deal with everything as it came. When she finished, she wrapped her robe around herself as she headed back into her room.

No doubt the others were all waking up to sever hangovers at the moment. Sakura almost smiled at that. She also knew, however, that Naruto and Kakashi would head to the team seven training grounds no matter what their condition was…and most likely Sasuke would be there with them.

_I won't avoid him like a scared little girl._ She convinced herself. _But I need a little while longer to compose myself before I see him again. I'll wait until lunch at Ichiraku. _

And so she slipped on her hospital uniform and walked out of her house. She could do this. She had to.

* * *

"She isn't coming." Sasuke mumbled as he took a bite of his ramen.

"Yes she is!" Naruto defended. "She's just a little late!" There were already three empty bowls sitting in front of him, and he was hurriedly eating his fourth. Sai was still picking at his, face emotionless.

Kakashi looked over at Sasuke and Naruto, giving a small sigh. "Shizune said that she's been at the hospital. Tsunade requested that Sakura be the one to work with Juugo on his emotional instability one on one."

"That Karin girl is the one who seems emotionally unstable." Naruto grumbled. He then grinned, fluttering his eyelashes in his best Karin impersonation. "_Oh Sasuke-kun!"_

"Dobe." Sasuke gave a small snort. His eyes narrowed a bit as he looked to Sai, who was sketching something out on a piece of paper.

"What are you doing?" He still couldn't believe that Naruto had invited Sai to their 'Ramen Reunion'.

"I'm drawing, SasGay, what does it look like?" Sai cocked his head to the side with that fake smile of his.

Naruto burst into laughter at the nickname. "SasGay, how'd you come up with that one?"

"Sakura helped me." Sai's smile turned into a bit of a smirk as Sasuke's narrowed even more. The two began a glaring contest. It was unsettling, since neither Naruto or Kakashi had ever seen Sai glare before. They just continued eating their ramen in silence, ignoring the death-filled glares that passed over them between the two black-haired shinobi.

"It's good to see I'm not late for the party." Came a monotonous voice from behind them. All four whipped around in their chairs—or rather, Naruto whipped around and the others turned their heads—to see Sakura standing on the packed earth road.

Sasuke immediately noticed her nurse outfit—and he had to push down the thoughts that had surfaced last night after Naruto's suggestion—and gave her a curt nod in greeting.

Sakura sat down in the only available seat…beside Sasuke. She didn't seem to mind as she ordered her drink. Of course, it was very difficult to tell, with her face an emotionless mask.

"How was your shift at the hospital?" Kakashi asked conversationally. Sai seemed to have become inspired as he began scribbling away in his sketchpad.

"Juugo is doing much better. Suigetsu's burns have been healed completely and he will be ready to begin his training again in a few days." Sakura informed them, taking a sip of her tea.

"Will you be able to train with us tomorrow?" Naruto asked hopefully. Sakura turned to look at him and nodded, ignoring the fact that Sasuke was watching her expectantly.

Naruto whooped for joy. "YES!"

Sai looked down at the picture he'd drawn and gave a tentative real smile from beneath the fake one. Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi were all sitting down at the Ichiraku counter. Naruto was talking animatedly to Sakura, who was smiling--even if it was a fake smile. Sasuke had a scowl on his face, and Kakashi had just started to pulled down his mask to eat his ramen.

"Oh look, you got Kakashi-sensei without his mask!" Naruto exclaimed. "Awe, you still can't see anything!" Sasuke looked over his shoulder, a bit of curiosity sparkling in his eyes.

Sakura gave a small sigh. "You shouldn't worry about it. Kakashi-sensei's face is overrated." She gave a small smirk in Kakashi's direction as he pretended to be hurt at her comment.

"Please Sakura, you didn't see me at my best." He defended.

"YOU saw Kakashi-sensei without his mask on?" Naruto asked in awe. Sasuke turned to her as well. Sai looked up from his sketch—where he'd been making a few adjustments—to look at Sakura interestedly.

Sakura merely took a sip of her tea.

_Sakura slumped to the ground beside Kakashi, clutching her arm with a wince. _

_"You ok?" Kakashi asked hoarsely. His throat was dry and he swallowed to wet it, but it only made the cut on the side of his neck throb._

_"I'm peachy." She answered back casually with a hint of sarcasm. She touched her glowing hand to her arm and closed the wound. "That last ambush wasn't expected."_

_Kakashi nodded. "Well, we're always supposed to expect the unexpected." He gave a soft laugh at her snort._

_Sakura's eyes grew a bit dim. "It's my fault Isao-san and the others are dead."_

_Kakashi shook his head. "Not it isn't, Sakura."_

"_We're the only two members of a five member squad to survive." Sakura's voice was cold. "I lost three teammates due to my ineptitude as a shinobi."_

"_That's foolish, Sakura." Kakashi spoke sternly. "You can't blame yourself for every death of a Konoha shinobi just because you're a medic who couldn't heal someone. Not all wounds can be healed." _

…

"_Do you have the scroll?"_

…_  
Kakashi let out a small laugh. "Don't worry Sakura. Mission successful." He waved the scroll in front of her, before giving a small groan. "Damn I'm sore."_

_Her chakra filled hands touched his side, healing the broken rib. He wished she could see the appreciative smile beneath his mask, but even if he hadn't been wearing one she wouldn't have seen it. Her head was bent in concentration._

_"The scroll isn't that important, I suppose." He heard Sakura murmur._

_"Eh?" Kakashi asked confusedly. _

_And then Sakura pulled down his mask and gave him a peck on the cheek, a ghost of her old smile drifting across her face. "Glad you're ok, Kakashi-sensei."_

"That is so unfair!" Naruto mumbled under his breath. He saw Sakura's dark gaze and sighed. "Sakura-chan, we're team seven again. Stop being so cold!"

"Why did you become emotionless?" Sasuke asked, his own voice bland.

There was a moment of silence as Sakura continued to drink her tea, seeming to ignore the question.

"What a stupid question, teme!" Naruto grunted. "We all know she became emotionless to get over _you_."

Sasuke 'hn'ed and took a bite of hit ramen. "That is a foolish thing to do."

"Don't flatter yourself, Uchiha Sasuke." Sakura spoke, placing her money for her food on the table and standing. "I didn't become emotionless for you. Don't be so self-absorbed to believe you're the only reason good enough to have emotions training."

"Then what made you wish to become emotionless?" Sai asked. He had never asked her why when she'd come to him asking for help. He, like the others, had assumed that it was because of Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes had narrowed a bit at Sakura's cold comment.

Sakura looked to them and they saw something glitter in her eyes, as if she wanted desperately to tell them something. But then it was hidden beneath hard jade that merely reflected their own faces. Blank and protected.

"It is something that none of you could possibly understand." And then she walked down the street, leaving them to ponder her words.

* * *

**(A\N: Ah, the tension builds! It will definitely take a while for Sakura to finally open up to everyone again. WAH! We want our little Sakura-chan back:(**

**Sasuke may be emotionless but he's a pervert. I can just imagine what he thought of when he imagined Sakura in a little nurse's outfit. :P**

**Well, I hope you all enjoyed!**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka**

**Pick-up line: You're so hot you must be the reason for global warming.)**


	11. Chapter 10: Strip Down and Dive In

**Chapter 10**

**Strip Down and Dive In**

The early morning air was damp and chilled, but Sakura liked it. She pulled her jacket tighter around her body as she continued down the street. Her schedule for the day was imprinted in her mind. Ordered and efficient, just how she liked things. Her schedule was usually always the same: she'd begin the day with a short mediation session at her home before she took a shower and got dressed for the rest of the day. Then came her medic rounds at the hospital.

That was where she was headed now, head down and shoulders hunched as she endured the chill. Sakura was vaguely wishing that winter in Konoha was more like it was in Sunagakure. She didn't think they even knew what snow was there.

She was greeted cheerfully by the secretary when she walked into the hospital. She was the only one besides Ino, Tsunade, and Shizune who even tried to be nice to Sakura, and Sakura took that to heart. Because of it she would always try and talk with the young woman when she came in.

"Good morning." Sakura nodded her head, trying to make her voice sound a bit more casual than cold. "Did Tsunade-shishou or Shizune-san leave me any orders?"

The woman looked down at her notepad. "Hm, well, Hokage-sama left a note saying to come to her office after you finish your rounds. You have a mission." She handed Sakura a clipboard, "Here are your patients for today."

Sakura nodded. "Arigato." She began walking towards the stars, flipping absently through the files in her hands. She noticed that they were minor cases that would take a small amount—if none at all—of chakra to treat. _I suppose Tsunade-shishou wants me to be rested and ready for my mission._

Her only tasking patient seemed to be Juugo, who'd she'd work with at the end of her shift. Before he could be let out of the hospital's high security room there had to be no doubt in anyone's mind that he was mentally—and physically, capable of controlling himself.

Sakura gave a soft sigh as she headed into the room where Neji sat, looking a bit withdrawn and sheepish. Sakura closed the door behind her softly and he looked up before giving a curt nod in greeting. Sakura responded with her own as she came up beside the bed he was sitting on the edge of, "What seems to be the problem?"

Neji snorted. "Just a post-mission check-up, Sakura."

Sakura nodded, "I see." They were common now, issued after several high and mighty _male_ shinobi had decided that their wounds weren't severe enough to go to a medic to get them healed after a mission. Of course, bleeding out in their own apartments was a bit more than 'minor wounds' as they liked to call them. After a few near deaths Tsunade had made it mandatory that every shinobi coming back from a mission get a once over by a medic-nin.

Sakura herself knew that Neji was one of those high and mighty males that seemed to think that unless he was missing a limb or had a gaping hole in his stomach than he was perfectly healthy.

_Just like Kakashi and Sai._ She shook her head once more. As a medic she couldn't understand why someone would willingly let themselves deal with that kind of pain just to save face. _Male pride, I suppose. _She placed her hands on his bare shoulders. He'd stripped himself of his shirt long before she'd entered.

"Difficult mission?" She asked tonelessly as she let her chakra enter his body, assessing it for any injury.

"Hai."

Sakura nodded. A few years ago she would have tried to draw out the conversation with the stoic Hyuga, but now she merely let them fall into uncomfortable silence.

"…Sakura?"

"Hm?"

"Merely because you are the only kunoichi on your team does not mean that Naruto and the others would not understand."

Sakura's fingers paused their movements as she looked down at him. She knew what he was talking about the moment he had said it. He had, after all, been on several of those missions with her.

"It isn't any of their business."

She heard him give a patient sigh, as if he were dealing with a child, "Sakura, we both know that mentally those missions can be devastating…it would be best to talk with someone about it, would it not?"

"Neji, do you know the reason why Tsunade-shishou never sent Naruto, Kakashi, or even Sai with me on one of those missions?"

"Hm?"

"Because they _cannot_ understand. They would merely become a hindrance to my mission. It is for this reason that yourself, Shino, Shikamaru, and the older Jônin are sent on those types of missions with me rather than any of the others. You understand the significance and importance of the mission and will not let your emotions distract you."

Neji didn't know if he should take that as a compliment or an insult. He knew what happened on those missions and he felt a bit guilty that he didn't even flinch at the thought of them. "Hai." He merely commented softly.

"It is better this way."

Neji nodded stiffly as Sakura took her hands off of him and wrote something down in her clipboard before she tore out the paper and handed it to him. "Just give this to the secretary at the door. I found nothing medically threatening to you."

Neji slipped his shirt back on in silence before he turned to speak to her once more. But she was gone, the door clicking shut behind her.

* * *

"Why are we here Tsunade-baachan?" Naruto whined as he rested his feet up against her desk. "Do we get to go on a mission?"

Sai said nothing beside him, sketching something like always.

"Why else would you two be here, dobe?" Sasuke asked emotionlessly from where he sat on Sai's other side. It would explain why the other two were there…but not himself.

Tsunade merely rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. "Naruto, I have enough to deal with at the moment. I don't need to add your incessant questions to the list."

Naruto frowned, crossing his arms. There was a moment of silence as he tried to restrain himself from saying anything. He looked around the room, at the pictures of the former Hokages, at the bookshelf, the ceiling, the _floor_. He was going to die of boredom.

He finally decided to sneak a peak at what Sai was drawing. He merely gave it a glance and looked back to the bookcase before he did a double-take, mouth open and eyes wide. "What the hell?"

"What?" Sasuke asked almost curiously as he leaned over Sai's other shoulder to see the sketch. His own eyes widened for a fraction of a second as he stared down at the paper. It was a picture of Sakura in her hospital uniform, a clipboard under her arm and a look of determination planted firmly on her face, a pencil tucked behind one ear.

It would have been a normal sketch—except for the small hints that showed Sai was drawing a bit more from fantasy than fact. They gathered this was the case because of the shortness of her skirt—and the way the first two buttons on her blouse were undone, torturing the viewer with hints at what lay beneath the white silk.

"You're a pervert, Sai." Naruto muttered, "Sakura-chan'll kill you if she sees that." But he didn't stop staring.

"I was merely drawing a picture." Sai seemed a bit confused. "What is wrong with it?"

_Absolutely nothing._ Sasuke thought silently. He rebuked himself immediately. "Hn. Naruto's right. You didn't make it realistic enough. She doesn't look like that."

"Are you implying something about my apprentice, Uchiha?" Tsunade asked sternly. When he didn't answer she merely continued. "I would prefer it if you three would stop ogling that picture like a piece of meat."

"I wasn't _ogling_!" Naruto defended.

The other two said nothing.

"Good. Who knows what Hinata would think, ne?" Came a voice behind all three of them.

Naruto shot out of his chair with a yell. "Don't _do_ that, Saukra-chan!"

_How long has she been there?_ Sasuke wondered, almost embarrassedly.

Sai merely gave her a cheerful, fake smile. "Hello Sakura. Jiraiya-san asked if I could draw a picture of you for him."

Sakura merely snorted before she sat down in her own seat—beside Sasuke. Sasuke forced himself to look up at the Hokage and not let his gaze slide down to the way her skirt hitched up her hips a bit at the way she sat. He laced his fingers together, resting his elbows on his knees in that trademark, brooding pose of his as they all waited.

"Sakura, it's good you're here. I have a mission I need taken care of, and I needed someone to lead it."

Sakura nodded.

"Hey, why couldn't I lead it?" Naruto asked, hurt.

"Che. You'd get everyone killed, dobe." Sasuke cut in.

"Teme." Naruto shot back.

"Hn."

"Enough." Tsunade silenced them. "Sakura is going to act as team leader during this mission because Naruto, you aren't ready to lead yet, Sai is used to taking orders not giving them, and Sasuke is in no position to be giving orders to anyone."

…

…

…

"Did you just say Sasuke?" Naruto finally choked out. "As in _he's going on the mission with us_?"

"Hai." Tsunade nodded, shuffling through a stack of papers.

"He's on probation and has been stripped of all shinobi status. A mission of this magnitude would surely call for another Jônin." Sakura commented coldly.

Tsunade sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Listen. My forces are run thin as it is with this damn 'war game' Cloud is playing. I'm sending _Chûnin_ on a-rank missions these days." She sighed. "I hate it, but it has to be done. The council already agreed that as long as you are there to keep Uchiha in check, Sakura, there is no need for panic. And since the mission is still within the borders of the land of Fire he isn't breaking the probationary rules."

There was another strained moment of silence before Sakura nodded, voice hard. "Very well Hokage-sama. Please, brief us on the mission."

Tsunade gave a small smile. "Very well. There is a very influential man who runs a common whore-house in one of the smaller villages outlying Konoha."

A nod. Prostitution was anything but illegal in the land of Fire. They didn't see anything wrong about it yet.

"It has come to our knowledge that he has begun the illegal prostituting of children." Tsunade saw Sakura's eyes flash and her lips thin in anger. If there was one thing that could piss Sakura off it was the abuse of children.

"This still doesn't sound like a mission important enough for us," Sai commented. "Surely Chûnin could handle this easily."

Tsunade shook her head. "If it were merely this man and his guards there wouldn't be a problem. But…he has hired several shinobi from Mist to help him."

"He deserves to go down." Naruto growled. "No one should do that to little children. It's sick."

Tsunade pulled out a scroll. "Also, as I said before, he is influential and wealthy. If he were to merely be killed by Konoha shinobi than his family would demand recompense."

"It has to look like an accident then." Sasuke filled in coolly.

"Hai." Tsunade acknowledged. "And you must not be seen." She pulled out a scroll and gave it to Sakura. "This is a map to the village and a brief description of the man and what little information we could gather on his Mist-nin guards. Several of our shinobi were killed getting that information."

Sakura tucked the scroll into her belt. "We will leave in five hours. In two hours the three of you will come to my apartment to look over the information in this scroll and devise any strategies we can think of."

There was a collective nod from her team.

"As long as all this is understood, all of you should head to your homes and gather the supplies you will need. Expect a few days of travel." Tsunade commented.

All four nodded at her, bowing before they left the room silently.

_It may be too soon to send Sasuke with them…but it cannot be helped. _Tsunade sighed once more before she grabbed the sake bottle that had been hidden in her file cabinet. She took a deep swig before looking back down at the papers in front of her. The Chûnin exam would be coming up in three months—and they were being held in Konoha. That meant that on top of the threat of war from Cloud, Tsunade had to get ready for the exams.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Sakura hurriedly slipped out of her hospital uniform. She knew that Naruto had a tendency to come early in hopes of seeing her before she was fully dressed. She shook her head at his immaturity as she let herself drift into deep thought.

_We'll be outnumbered and they will have the advantage of a fortified building. This means that we'll have to use stealth instead of force. We'll take one day to scout the area, see if we can get an inside view of the building…_

She pulled on her regular Jônin outfit—minus the vest. She needed to blend in with her surroundings easily and move swiftly. The vest would merely make it more difficult to move silently.

She put an extra set of clothing in her traveling pack as well as some ointments and other medical supplies. She did nothing to her hair except rake her hand through it a few times.

_I don't know Tsunade's reasoning behind sending Sasuke with us but…_Sakura sighed softly, _I won't deny that he's a strong shinobi and will be a good asset—if he listens to orders. _

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto's voice rang through the apartment. Sakura walked into her living room where he was already sprawled on the couch, his traveling pack by the door and a beer in hand.

"I didn't know you kept any here." Naruto motioned to the beer with a grin. "Good thing you do, ne?"

"You shouldn't drink before a mission."

"You heard Tsunade-baachan. It will take at least a day or so to get there. I'll be _more_ than sober by the time the fun begins."

"Fun?" Sai questioned as he walked inside. "I thought we were here for another debriefing."

"We are." Sasuke muttered as he shut the door behind him. He gave Sakura's apartment a quick once over before he sat on the couch beside Naruto. Sai sat on Naruto's other side, and Sakura sat down in the chair across from them, pulling out the scroll.

"The man's name is Oonishi Yasashiku, age 34, brown hair, blue eyes, long nose and square chin." Sakura read emotionlessly. "He has a large home on the outskirts of the village, surrounded by a large wall. There are four entrances."

The group gave a nod.

"We have two days to travel to the village." Sakura spoke once more. "We will then spend a day scouting out the village and the Oonishi compound for weaknesses and escape routes."

"That sounds boring…" Naruto grumbled.

Sakura gave a soft sigh. "We do not know how many mist-nin are stationed there, but there are definitely more than us. I want us to judge their numbers, strengths, and chakra levels before we go in for the assassination."

"We need to know what we're up against." Sai agreed with another nod.

"All of you need to understand one thing and one thing only." Sakura spoke, her voice getting icy. "The Hokage made me the leader of this mission and that means you cannot second-guess my orders when I give them, understood?"

"Ouch. Kinda harsh, Sakura-chan." Naruto grinned weakly.

Sakura merely look passed him at Sasuke and their eyes locked. She continued in that emotionless voice of hers. "I don't care if you enjoy the fact that I am your leader during this mission but you will obey my orders. I don't need you to _like_ me."

And then she broke eye contact with him, going over another set of information from the scroll.

* * *

The small little town bustled with activity. People laughed and talked, vendors shouted, tempting passersby with their products.

A woman, stooped over a bit with the large pack on her back, gave a small grunt as she shifted her burden a bit more to one shoulder. She continued down the street, ignoring the vendors and the other civilians. The tantalizing smell of the food stalls was almost too much to ignore, but she continued on her trek, her gaze determined.

"No going further than this point, lady." A guard snorted as she walked up to the edge of the large building's gate. He gave a sly grin as he noticed her pretty face, even if it was a bit strained from overwork. "Unless you're planning on applying for a job, ne?"

The woman snorted, shifting her pack once more. "I came by to see if there were any job openings for maids or cooks." Her voice was gravelly and hoarse, as if her throat was dry.

"The boss doesn't need any more old maids." The guard grunted. "Now get out of here."

The woman muttered a low curse as she turned to leave. Her head scarf swayed in the slight breeze as she slowly walked back down the road. She entered the small inn, walking up the steps shakily. She opened the door to her room and slipped inside, shrugging off her pack.

"Took you long enough Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed impatiently as he jumped up from the bed. The woman gave a derisive snort, pulling off her head scarf to reveal her choppy pink hair. She rubbed her face on her sleeve, brushing off the makeup that had given her the worn lines of a hardened worker.

"What did you find out?" Sai asked.

Sakura unzipped her bag and pulled something out, showing it to them. It was a small tag, with some kanji written on it. "These tags cause chakra fluctuations in genjutsu, making it impossible to place a genjutsu within a ten foot radius of the wall. It was a good thing I went in my disguise rather than one of you in a henge."

Naruto gave a groan. "Great. Well that means we aren't getting in through one of your genjutsus."

Sai looked up from where he had been sitting, meditating for a moment. "Are there any alternate ways for getting inside the building rather than through the front gate?"

Sasuke opened the door and walked inside. "They have a back entrance, but it's guarded by ten guards and one of the mist-nin."

Naruto gave another groan.

Sakura merely pulled out the large diagram of the building Tsunade had given her. It was merely the outside, which meant that they didn't have any clue as to what lay inside.

"Sasuke," She motioned for him to come over. He did so, picking up several markers and placing them in certain places.

"These are all of the available entranceways, all of which are guarded by at least one mist-nin." Sasuke commented, his voice neutral.

Sakura nodded, surveying the map once more. "I see. The easiest entrance would be here. There's a long area of unguarded walkway we can hide the bodies, and from what I observed of the guard change, that one takes the longest."

Naruto grinned. "So, we gonna make a move tonight?"

…

…

…

"Hai."

* * *

Sakura let her feet touch the ground softly as she jumped off of the tree limb that had previously been her vantage point. There were loud sounds coming from the building: a mixture of laughter, pleasured groans, and the drone of normal conversation. A bit of music drifted through the air, and lights were burning in every window.

She could see the outline of guards walking along the walls.

She and the others were hidden by the trees' far reaching shadows. Sakura blinked for a second as she looked over the portion of wall where the entrance should have been.

There was none. Not unless it was beneath the water of the river that wound around the eastern side of the house and disappeared into the woods about twenty feet away from Sakura.

She hand signaled behind her and three figures landed next to her.

"I found an alternate route inside." Sakura murmured, heading back into the forest and towards the river.

"What is it?" Naruto grumbled. "The building is _that_ way, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura stopped at the river's edge, dipping a hand in. It was cold, but not unbearably so. "Naruto, this river runs right by the compound. Judging by the map we gained there is an entrance. I believe it is a sewer grate."

"You've got to be kidding me." Naruto whined. "Swimming in garbage?"

Sakura merely pulled off her shirt.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked as he stared at her for a second. She looked back at him with a sigh.

"There are still shinobi guarding the building. We have to be as silent as possible. In the water our clothing will only hinder us, and wet clothing on a cold night is more dangerous than no clothing at all. Only take the weapons you think you'll need. Silence is our greatest strength here." Then she stripped off her pants. She ticked a few shuriken into a band around her leg and a few senbon into the teasing edge of her underwear.

Naruto and Sai complied hurriedly, stripping down to their own underwear, pulling out a few weapons and tucking them away. Only Sasuke hesitated, as he looked at Sakura's almost completely bare form and then back at the water.

"That water is below freezing."

Sai gave another fake smile. "We'll have to move quickly so that we don't cramp up."

Sakura gave a soft sigh. "Circulating your chakra through the chakra passageways creates enough heat to sustain the body in cold conditions."

"Aw Sakura-chan…" Naruto grumbled. "You know that control and concentration aren't something I'm good at."

Sakura shrugged. "Let the Kyuubi circulate the chakra then."

"I bet I can do it better than teme." Naruto grinned, winking at the Uchiha.

Sasuke looked as if he were about to object, but merely 'hn'd as he slipped off his own clothing.

Sakura placed a kunai between her teeth before she dove into the frigid waters of the river with an almost silent splash. Naruto gave a feral grin before he dove in after her, Sai a second behind.

Sasuke gave a soft sigh of annoyance before he too plunged into the icy water. The shock when the water hit his body was like a blow to the chest. The air seemed to leave his lungs as he clamped his mouth shut, holding his breath. His eyes opened blearily, seeing the fuzzy outlines of his teammates ahead of him.

He pushed his limbs to their limits, swimming against the current of the river as they headed up to the compound. He knew that Sakura's choice was the right one, even if it was making his body shiver and turn blue. Who would expect anyone—even a shinobi—to swim up a freezing river with the threat of hypothermia?

However, most shinobi didn't have a medic on their team that knew the inner workings of the body. Of course, this still didn't help with the fact that the freezing water seemed to be sucking the air from his lungs.

Naruto didn't have much of a problem with the temperature of the water. The Kyuubi seemed to be doing a good job with warming him. His chakra was stronger than most, which added to the heat. _Way to go Sakura-chan!_

Sakura clenched her teeth tighter around the freezing metal blade in her mouth as she continued to circulation of chakra through her body. She knew that it took a bit of chakra control to pull it off, but she knew that all of her teammates were skilled enough to get at least a minimal result and keep alive. The only one she was worried about was Naruto and even that was a miniscule worry.

Her eyes were strained in the murky water and she fleetingly envied the Hyuga their Byakugan. It would have been an amazing asset on this mission. But she made do with what she had as she kicked her feet one last time and her hands touched stone. She motioned to the others to remain silent and underneath the water as she slowly broke the surface, taking a small breath as she pressed herself against the wall. The water lapped around her neck and against the metal bars of the sewer grate behind her.

She reached down and tapped the shoulder next to her. Naruto came up, followed by Sai and Sasuke. She made sure all of them were hidden within the shadowed outcropping of the high wall before she turned to look at the grate.

Sakura put both hands on separate bars, straining her ears for any sound of footsteps above them. Then she summoned chakra into her arms and jerked. The grate came loose with a small clang and they all winced and froze in their positions, waiting.

Nothing.

Sasuke went inside of the sewer drain first, since his eyes were the best fit for this situation. Then went Sakura and Sai, with Naruto at the rear. They heard him slowly slip the grate back into place behind him before they began the long task of crawling inside.

* * *

**(A\N: Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. I was feeling a bit uninspired in the beginning before the whole 'mission' started to take form. Well, I hope you liked it.**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka**

**Pick-up line: Excuse me, but I think I dropped something!!! MY JAW!!)**


	12. Chapter 11: I am a Kunoichi

**Chapter 11**

**I am a Kunoichi**

They shivered as they continued through the pipe, pulling themselves up the angled shaft with their hands, bracing their bare feet against the cool metal to catch their breath. Water dripped down from Sasuke's leg, landing on Sakura's forehead. She blinked to get the drops out of her eyes with a frown.

None of them could use their chakra to grip, because Sakura had said that the mist-nin would notice that immediately. So their hands dug into the cold stone, fingernails biting as they tried to find handholds, their arms and legs burning from the strain.

"The pipe levels out up ahead." Came Sasuke's emotionless voice as he continued inching his way up. Sakura had gotten used to this darker, even more introverted Sasuke. Naruto had seemed genuinely disturbed when he'd learned that Sasuke wasn't going to be like he had once been. It seemed that the only reason he had acted as he had before was because of the sake and his small bit of relief at not being executed before he fulfilled his thirst for revenge.

"Sakura-chan…I'm still wondering why you didn't just pretend to be one of those er…" Naruto swallowed. "You _know_…and just get inside and then, well it would be easy for US to get inside…"

Sakura gave a soft sigh and shook her head, making water splatter down onto Sai and Naruto from her wet hair. "They are suspecting something like that. You seem to forget that there are mist-nin guarding him. The moment they sense someone with a good amount of chakra enter the building they'll be watching them the entire night. There would be no way to get anywhere close to our target."

"Wow, they must be paranoid." Naruto muttered.

Sakura looked up to see that Sasuke had disappeared into the shadows. There was a soft scuttling sound before his hand appeared to help pull her up. She was tempted to ignore the hand offered her just to get on his nerves, but her screaming muscles warned her against it and so she gripped it and felt him pull her up with a grunt.

"I'm not that heavy." She said tonelessly as she climbed up beside him.

"Hn."

She merely turned to help up Sai. She easily hefted him to the ledge where she and Sasuke sat, shooting a smirk to Sasuke with a small offhand comment. "I'll show you some arm strengthening exercises when we arrive back in Konoha." She'd never do such a thing, of course, but she just wanted to attack that over inflated male pride of his.

"Hn."

Sai looked from one to the other, his fake smile still in place. He crawled over Sakura, confused as to why Sasuke gave him a small glare as his legs brushed up against hers.

Sakura grabbed Naruto, who was grumbling about how much his arms hurt.

"Get used to it, dead-last." Sasuke commented from ahead of them. It seemed that even if he was colder than before, he couldn't resist insulting Naruto when the chance arose.

Naruto gave a soft curse as he landed beside Sakura. She crawled past Sai to the small light that shone from the grate opening. "Sasuke, what do you see?' She asked as he looked passed the bars, his Sharingan glinting in the dim light that came from the windows.

"We are past the walls. There is a garden just outside, which will give us cover. The house is six yards ahead of us. There are guards at the door, and a mist-nin on the wall two yards to our left. A regular guard is making his rounds. He'll pass by the grate in a minute."

Sakura nodded. "Very well. Remember, no chakra or jutsu at all. When the guard comes by, kill him."

Sasuke had never heard Sakura order someone to kill someone else before, and the words unnerved him, coming from her mouth. Those words should never make it past those lips he'd once thought so innocent. _But people change_, he reminded himself bitterly.

They heard the guard's light footsteps and Sasuke pulled out a kunai. Before Sakura could open her mouth to tell him no he'd slammed the man against the bars, his hand over his mouth as he slit his throat.

"Dammit Sasuke!" Sakura hissed as the man's corpse slumped to the ground. "This needs to look like an accident, not like an assassination."

"Not all of us have medical jutsu that can kill." Sasuke said coldly, as he waited for her to open the grate. Sakura gritted her teeth as she pushed the grate open, slipping into the shadows provided by the height of the wall and the tall bushes that surrounded the garden.

She motioned to the others to join her and they did so silently. "Sai, put on the man's uniform and go scout ahead."

Sai nodded, pulling the guard's shirt over his head. He placed on the helmet a little awkwardly, giving her a 'is this right?' look. Sakura merely gave a soft sigh and fixed it. Sai switched the sword on the guard's uniform for his own with his ever-present fake smile.

"I'll go look around." And then he was walking boldly out from the shadows along the inside of the wall, looking up at the mist-nin and nodding his head before continuing his 'rounds'. Sakura had frozen when he'd looked up at the mist-nins, wondering what their response would be. They merely grunted in recognition at the guard and continued looking out at the trees surrounding the compound.

She could feel the hidden strength in their suppressed chakra and gave an inward grimace. These were no normal mist-nin, but then again she'd already known that.

_Sakura gave a soft sigh as she listened to Naruto babbling about some kind of battle tactic to Sai, who commented on how stupid the 'dickless wonder' could be. Sasuke did nothing, merely stared down at the files laid out in front of him. _

_Half an hour left before they headed out. Half an hour of listening to Naruto and Sai bicker and stare at Sasuke who was as annoyingly silent as she was. There was only room for _one_ introversive psycho in their squad and she filled the role nicely, thank you. Sometimes _she_ couldn't stand the way she acted, how was she going to be able to stand _him

_There was a knock on her door and Sakura's head lifted up from where it had been resting in her palm as she stood, opening the door with an emotionless stare. It was Ino._

_"Hey Sakura. Tsunade asked me to come and get you. You're needed at her office before you leave." She blinked as she looked inside and then grinned. "Would you look at that! Three at a time. Nice work Sakura."_

_Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes. _

_Naruto came up behind her and slung an arm around her shoulder, grinning at Ino. "Yep. We're all members of Sakura's harem." He gave a loud laugh as Ino snickered and Sakura sighed. _

_"Go back inside little harem boy." Sakura muttered, pushing him into the room as she stepped out with Ino. She heard Naruto head back over to sit on the couch, where Sasuke promptly 'hn'd and Sai asked what a harem was._

_Sakura merely headed off to the Hokage's tower._

_It didn't take long to get there, of course. Ino left her at the hospital to begin her rounds, and Sakura entered the office just in time to see Tsunade hurriedly trying to stuff her sake bottle into a drawer in her desk. _

_"Don't worry about it Tsunade-shishou. Shizune and I both know you have sake in there. There's no point in trying to hide it." _

_"So much for getting an upper hand on you and Shizune." Tsunade grunted.Sakura nodded, sitting down in her chair lazily. "You said you wanted to see me before my team left for our mission?"_

_Tsunade nodded. "Sakura…I know that you're still wondering why the hell I sent four Jônin-level shinobi to deal with a child molester and some mist-nin."_

_Sakura shrugged. "It was your decision to make. As a shinobi it is my duty to follow the Hokage's orders."_

_"Don't be a smart-ass." Tsunade huffed. The corner of Sakura's mouth tipped up in the semblance of a smile before it disappeared behind her emotionless mask._

_"There's another reason why I sent four of you." Tsunade commented seriously. "Those mist-nin…they are missing-nin from their village and…" Tsunade gave a frustrated sigh. "It was a request from the Mizukage that you assassinate them."_

_"I thought we were enemies with Mist." Came Sakura's bland reply._

_Tsunade snorted. "We were…and at the moment I suppose we still are…but a few days ago I received a message from Mist asking for an alliance with the leaf village. They've requested to be a part of the next Chûnin exam."_

_"Ah." Sakura nodded. "And as a sign of our good faith you took on their request."_

_"Those missing-nin are powerful, Sakura." Tsunade continued sternly. "That is the only reason why I am sending all four of you. If you don't succeed, Mist may take it as a treat and attack us. We can't have that, especially with the still eminent threat of war with Cloud."_

_"So you're sending a missing-nin to hunt missing-nin." Sakura snorted. "How ironic."_

_"Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke's disposition has nothing to do with this mission."_

_"Hai, Tsunade-shishou." Sakura's reply was stilted._

_"Well, now you know the reason behind sending you four. If it weren't of the utmost political importance I wouldn't do it."_

_"Hai."_

_Tsunade was getting a bit frustrated at Sakura's one syllable answers. "Stop acting like that damn Uchiha, Sakura. You're _my_ apprentice, not Orochimaru's."_

_Sakura stiffened and her eyes flashed, but she said nothing. "Tsunade-shishou, would you perhaps tell me why you are being so lenient with team Hebi?"_

_"So that's what's been bothering you, eh?" Tsunade grinned. "You think we're being too nice?"_

_She said nothing. _

_"Well, that's the point. Ibiki told me that we need to lull them into complacency by being hospitable." Tsunade commented. "For your information we have ANBU watching them everywhere. There's at least thirty ready to attack—and kill—at any given moment, with more reinforcements along the way. But also…you of all people know how low our shinobi forces are."_

_Sakura nodded. "Very well, Tsunade-shishou. I was merely worried about our kindness to traitors."_

_"Don't worry Sakura." Tsunade smiled weakly. "Until they prove their loyalty, they won't be trusted."_

_"I'm glad." Sakura stood. "My team and I shall head out."_

_"Don't forget about those Mist-nin, Sakura." Tsunade warned. "They're your level."_

_Sakura merely walked out of the room._

Sai slowly walked back over to them, smiling. "Well, the entrance to the eastern door is blocked by a mist-nin and some other guards. I can get through but you won't be able to."

The others nodded.

"There's an open window on the third floor and it isn't visible from the wall, so the mist-nin won't see anything."

Sakura looked at the three shinobi in front of her. "Very well. I will climb the wall. Sai, you will head in through the door and scout out the area." She pulled out four sets of microphones, handing on to each of them and putting on her own. "We'll use these to keep in touch. Sai and I will try and find Oonishi Yasashiku. You two will remain in the garden and warn us if the mist-nin begin to act suspicious."

"Hai." Naruto grinned, giving her a thumbs up. "But still…" His shoulders drooped a little as he gave a small pout. "We get the boring job."

"Don't worry." Sakura commented. "You'll have your fun soon enough." And then she was slipping into the shadows and Sai was walking towards the door. Naruto and Sasuke shared a small look, but Naruto broke eye contact first and turned on his microphone, hearing the soft crackling of silence.

* * *

Sakura hefted herself up to the window ledge, gripping it tightly as she listened for any signs that she'd been spotted or heard. Then she pulled herself into the room, her feet touching the cool wooden floor silently. She looked behind her to see the mist-nin walking back and forth on the wall, murmuring amongst themselves.

She thanked whoever was listening that they hadn't decided to look her way. Because even if her climb hadn't been visible to normal people, these mist-nin were anything but normal. Tsunade's warning nagged in the back of her mind as she walked through the room.

It was a simple storage room, filled with crates and boxes full of everything imaginable. She passed the wall covered in crates filled with sake to a chest with some cloth hanging out of it. She opened the lid, finding a few articles of expensive silk. She pulled out a crimson robe, throwing it around herself. _If I'm going to be walking around here I might as well look like I fit in, if I'm caught._

She slid the door open silently, peering out at the darkened hallway. She was above the party, but she could hear several of the guests in the rooms next to this one. They weren't trying to be very conspicuous about what they were doing. _Good thing I didn't let Naruto come in. The little pervert would have a field day. He's too much like Jiraiya as it is._

Her bare feet took her past the first few doors, ignoring the sounds of beds creaking and the occasional groan or scream. She merely heightened her senses, hoping for the smallest bit of a hint as to where Oonishi was. According to their information, the children were kept in a locked room in the basement. However, rescuing the children was not part of their mission, not really. As soon as they killed Oonishi, this property would go to his sister: an apparently kindhearted woman who would find a good home for the children. Sakura could only hope so.

She took a right. If she were Oonishi, she would have her bedroom in the most conspicuous place in the entire building, mostly because a shinobi would automatically try and find the most _inconspicuous_ place for their host. Some shinobi looked down on normal civilians, thinking they weren't as crafty as a well-trained ninja. Sakura found that to be false. After having to interrogate a few civilian criminals she had found out that they were just as twisted as their shinobi counterparts…and just as conniving.

_If I were Oonishi…I would place my room in the center of this floor. It would take forever for a shinobi to get past the barricades and defenses and there would be a better chance of the shinobi being discovered if they followed the more populated hallways. _

So Sakura followed the winding hallway, sometimes pushing herself up against the wall as a guard rounded the corner. Apparently Oonishi believed that no one would get past the shinobi guards at the gate of the compound and so he had not posted any _inside_ of the buildingm merely his civilian guards.

As she continued through the building, her mind wandered to Naruto and Sasuke. Were the two of them alright? Had they actually followed her orders and stayed put or were they even now revealing their position and ruining the entire mission?

_I must have faith in my team's abilities._ She thought hurriedly as she rounded another corner, knowing she was almost to the center room. She could tell she was close, because the halls were becoming more heavily guarded, and the air was tenser, more secretive and dark.

_The first step towards failure is in doubting my team. _She gave a small smile of triumph as she came across a pair of large mahogany doors with a golden trim. Oonishi's room…she checked the premises for any chakra signatures but couldn't find any—save for one in Oonishi's room. _Damn. I'll have to fight a shinobi after all._

Hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as another chakra signature pricked her senses. It was well hidden, which meant it could possibly be an enemy shinobi. She hurriedly pressed herself against the wall around the corner, cursing her horrible luck.

Tk.

Tk.

Tk.

The shoe came around the corner and Sakura was ready to gather chakra into her palm in a killing strike when she noticed the dark eyes of the person staring back at her from behind the guard's helmet, his face emotionless and his fake smile in place.

"Sai." She gave a soft sigh as he nodded. "What are you doing down this hall?"

"A few of the guards decided that I wasn't familiar and began following me to ask me some questions. I continued down this hallway in hopes of losing them." He replied.

"One of them is coming." Sakura whispered, hearing the hurried footsteps. "You could pretend to be a new bodyguard for Oonishi."

Sai shrugged a bit, "They will immediately know that I am not one of the usual guards once they see my face." He seemed a bit unfazed at that, and Sakura knew why. He and the others believed they could just kill the shinobi off easily and leave. But they had to kill the guard quickly, before he could alert anyone. If Sai used one of his jutsu, or a weapon, they would be caught immediately.

Sakura heard the footsteps coming down the hallway, and she saw a shoe in her line of sight, rounding the corner. She reacted instinctively, pushing Sai up against the wall and covering his body with hers, capturing his lips. She saw his eyes flash in confusion and surprise, something she'd never seen on his emotionless face before, but she ignored it.

"Hahaha, would you looky there." The guard chuckled as he stopped in front of the two. "Taking a break, eh boy?"

Sakura let out a small huff as she turned around with an annoyed frown. "It's rude to interrupt." She pouted a bit, pursing her lips prettily. The man's gaze drifted down her slender legs which were barely hidden beneath the crimson robe.

"Come now pretty, there's no need to play around with little boys when you have us men here." He grinned down at her.

She fluttered her eyelashes at him, unlatching herself from Sai and trailing a finger down the guard's chest. She looked up into his eyes with a seductive smile. "Wanna show me?"

He gave a low chuckle as he grabbed her chin in his hand. "Pink hair, that's interesting."

She gave a saucy smile. "Would you like to see if it's natural?" And then she pressed her lips ferociously to his, knowing that they didn't have much time before the mist-nin in Oonishi's room decided to come and check on what was happening. She snaked her arms around his neck, giving a soft purr of pleasure.

Sai stared at the scene in front of him in utter shock. He was thankful for his inability to show emotions, because he wasn't sure if his face could make all the different emotions he was feeling at the moment. He'd read about them and he remembered a few: shock, confusion, and a protectiveness of Sakura that the books described as jealousy.

Her hand raked through the man's hair as his own larger hand slipped beneath her robe. "You know…" He whispered against her cheek. "I've never seen you here before…"

She gave a breathy laugh into his ear. "Your loss." And then she pressed her fingers to his neck, the chakra shooting through his body and killing him instantly. He fell against her and she felt Sai grab him from her.

He placed the dead man's corpse silently on the ground. He just stared at the man, before he finally looked up at Sakura, to where she was tying the crimson robe around herself once again.

"…Sakura?"

"What?" She asked softly, checking her weapons over as she continued to keep a tab on the chakra signature in the other room. She had used such a minute amount of chakra that it would be quite difficult to sense it, and she had a feeling he hadn't.

"You just…me…and then him…" Sai's face held such an adorable look of confusion that it made Sakura want to smile. She would have if it weren't for the fact that she knew what he was implying.

"I am a kunoichi, Sai." Was her only comment, before she pressed a finger to her lips, motioning for him to be silent. "It's the room up ahead." Then she pressed a finger to her microphone, "Naruto?"

"Hey Sakura-chan!" Naruto's voice crackled into the air.

"Quiet dobe, they're probably hiding." Sasuke's voice sounded a second later.

"Hai." Sakura gave a soft sigh. "I'm sending Sai back to you two since I am the only one with the ability to kill this man silently."

"But Sakura-chan…" Naruto whined.

"When you see the signal, I want you three to head into the woods as quickly as possible."

"Signal?"

"You'll know what it is." Sakura answered back assuredly.

"Why are we running?" Sasuke questioned emotionlessly.

"Over and out." Sakura cut off her connection with the two, turning to Sai, who still stood next to her.

"Are you going to seduce Oonishi?" Sai asked bluntly.

She didn't answer him, merely gave him a level glance that said, 'go'. Sai nodded, slowly disappearing down another hallway and Sakura breathed in deeply—a relieved breath.

Now with Sai gone there would be no distractions. She could finish this part of the mission, get the shinobi to come after them…and finish the second part. Everything would work out perfectly.

There was only one more thing to do now…and then the mission would go of without a hitch.

Hopefully.

* * *

**(A/N: Alrighty! Here's the chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed it. :) The next one will have the confrontation between our team and the mist-nin. Yippee! Well, I have to go and finish the next chapter of Heart of an Artist. Thank the lord for three-day weekends! **

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka**

**Pick-up line: You're like a cappuccino: hot, sweet, and you make me nervous.)**


	13. Chapter 12: Knowledge Gained

**(A/N: -bows down- I'm so sorry it's taken this long to update! Yes, I'm actually alive. Sorry for all of you who have been waiting. I have limited time to write these days and I feel it's my duty to update Maelstrom first and foremost. But here's the next chapter, so I hope you all enjoy it!**

**Oh, um, some of you were worried that I am turning this into a SaiSaku. Don't worry, this is definitely still SasuSaku. I just love Sai. :P And don't worry, for all of the rest of you Sai lovers out there. He won't get emotionally hurt because of Sakura and Sasuke's relationship. He doesn't really like her THAT way I don't think…and I don't think Sai could understand that kind of thing anyway :)**

**Chapter 12**

**Knowledge Gained, Innocence Lost**

* * *

She stood in front of the door for a few more minutes, breathing in deeply. She placed her hand on the knob, mentally taking a tally of all of her weapons, before she opened the door, peering into the darkened room. 

She saw a soft golden outline coming from a closed door on the other side of the pitch-black anti-chamber. The cold sensation that crept up her spine told her that something was off.

She heard muffled voices from inside the closed room and knew that Oonishi Yasashiku was inside, as well as his mist-nin guard. She tightened the chord on her robe unconsciously. It would be a disadvantage in battle already, but if it fell off during a fight and she became tangled in it than she was as good as dead.

The cold steel of one of her kunai pressing against the inside of her calf was a small comfort, and it also kept her from becoming to complacent, even if they hadn't spotted her yet. Keeping her chakra levels circulating at such a minimal level was a risky chance. If she was indeed caught by surprise than it would take a few moments for her to utilize her chakra for battle.

That left her at a horrible disadvantage.

She skirted passed a teak table, a glass vase filled with flowers placed precariously at the edge. Her eyes immediately assessed the room for traps, as well as escape routes. The window in the corner would be a good decision, except there was a good thirty foot-or-so drop to the ground.

_Complete the mission and leave, Sakura. The longer you keep your teammates in ignorance while they are still in danger the worse the situation can become. _She knew that she needed to keep them out of the loop for the most part, but once the actual fighting began they could catch on.

Suddenly her eyes widened as the chakra in the other room fluctuated.

"Shit—" She felt her body slam against the wall, even as she threw her arms up for protection against the oncoming attacker.

She landed against a bookcase that had been placed against the wall. The force of impact sent books and knickknacks tumbling from the shelves. A paper-weight glanced off of her arm and she winced a bit at the impact, but she ignored the pain for the most part, instincts kicking in.

She flipped to the side, and watched through narrowed eyes as the bookshelf splintered from the shinobi's next attack.

She rolled across the ground, coming up in a defensive crouch, a kunai already in hand.

The light flicked on and she ignored the burning sensation that assailed her eyes due to the sudden change from dark to light. Standing in the pile of rubble was a tall man in mist shinobi attire.

Sakura had to give him a second glance after she had assessed him the first time, because she was caught with a sudden sense of déjà vu. At first glance he looked exactly like Zabuza Momochi and she had the sinking feeling his ghost had come back to haunt her.

But after another assessment, she noticed subtle differences. His hair was lighter and a little longer, and the mask he wore on his face was black, like Kakashi's. His sword was thinner, but longer, with serrated edges. His outfit was much like Zabuza's, except for the coloring.

She swallowed, her eyes flickering to the man leaning against the doorway.

Oonishi Yasashiku.

She was amazed how such an utterly disappointing, non-intimidating man could cause so much pain and destruction. There was nothing special about him at all. She couldn't even pick anything distinctive out of him, save for the fact that he was slightly handsome, in a round-about sort of way. His hair was greasy and slicked back, and his nose was long and hooked, like a hawk's.

He gave a sneer—because she couldn't define it as a smile, no matter how satisfied it seemed—and pushed himself off of the wall, sauntering towards her. She stiffened, but did not move. The closer he got the easier it would be to kill him without the mist-nin's interference.

"Don't get too close." The mist-nin's voice was a deep baritone. Apparently he'd noticed the danger of Yasashiku's proximity to Sakura as well.

Yasashiku stopped, nodding. His eyes roved over Sakura's body, and she felt as if his eyes were unclothing her from the crimson robe.

"What an interesting little nuisance we have here." Even his voice was disgusting, sticky sweet and annoyingly smooth, the words rolling off of his tongue easily. "If Masakazu hadn't seen your shinobi friend leaving the area you probably could have taken us by surprise."

Sakura gritted her teeth. They'd seen Sai. Dammit. What had they done to him? Surely she would have heard if he'd been attacked…

"Masakazu said to let the boy go." Yasashiku seemed to read the question in her eyes, and his sneer widened. "Besides, I'd much rather have to deal with such a _pretty_ little assassin."

Sakura snorted derisively, eyes flickering to the window, before they went back to Masakazu. His hand was still on his sword, and his eyes watched her calculatingly. They were cold and dead and completely black. They reminded her of a shark.

"You're from Konoha." Masakazu spoke, his deep voice ringing through the room. She said nothing, but it didn't seem to matter. He knew who she was. "You're the Hokage's apprentice."

_Damn pink hair, _she thought angrily, but did nothing to betray her thoughts.

"The Hokage's apprentice?" Yasashiku blinked, before he let out a laugh—it was rather high pitched, reminding her a little of nails on a chalkboard. "That's rich. Am I that much of a threat?"

"Don't think so highly of yourself." Sakura finally spoke. "You're just a gnat that needs to be swatted." She took a step to the right, which made Yasashiku take a step to the left.

Sakura hid a smile as she continued walking to the right, in what looked like the direction of the door behind her for an easy escape. Yasashiku moved to the left, and Sakura finally stopped moving, and her eyes went to Masakazu once more.

"You have four weapons." He noted with a small grunt. "I don't see how you can hope to fight with me, little kunoichi. Hokage's apprentice or not, you aren't in my league."

She said nothing, taking a step backwards.

Suddenly he was behind her and she felt him whisper in her ear, "Trying to escape?"

She gave a malicious grin, one only Yasashiku saw before she answered. "No." And then lunged forward, slamming into Yasashiku—who now stood conveniently in front of the window.

Masakazu was too far behind her to block her from her target, and both of them went crashing through the glass as it shattered. Yasashiku took the full brunt of it and she saw tiny slivers cut into is skin.

They remained aloft for a few seconds, before they began dropping down to the ground. Yasashiku—finally coming out of his surprised stupor, tried to struggle as they fell.

Sakura merely grabbed his neck and gave a twist, feeling it snap. It was too easy an end to such a disgusting man, but he really wasn't important enough in her opinion to deserve anything more.

She let his body slam into the ground and she merely twisted in the air, landing on her feet. _There's your signal, boys. Let's do this._

She heard shouts coming from all directions, and that was when Masakazu landed on the ground in front of her, eyes livid.

"You just killed our income, bitch."

"You should have gotten an employer who didn't die so easily then." Sakura shot back, seeing Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai begin charging towards them—as well as twelve other mist shinobi.

She turned her attention back to Masakazu as he swung his sword forward. She jumped backwards and it skimmed the ground where she had previously been, making sparks.

As she went backwards her hands touched the stone wall and she propelled herself with chakra up the embankment, landing on the top. A mist-nin charged at her and she dodged to the left, jabbing her now glowing hand at his ribs. The mist-nin cursed, and Sakura saw blood spurt from his mouth as she punctured a lung with her jutsu.

He swung around and sliced her arm with his kunai as he went down, and Sakura winced as she felt it hit bone. Another came behind her and she ducked down, throwing out her leg in a swiping motion. He jumped up to avoid her leg, but was caught by a kunai in the throat.

Sakura figured it was one of her teammates, and knew she was correct when Naruto yelled out, "Take that bastard!"

Then Masakazu was behind her and she cursed inwardly as she rolled over the other side of the wall to escape his sword. On the way down she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Head into the woods! You'll need more weapons!"

And then her body smacked against the frigid river water and the shock made her gasp as she was engulfed. Her skin was stinging from the contact as she twisted in the water, seeing a dark shadow land on the surface above her. His sword sliced through the water and she was a little slow in dodging as crimson blood trickled from a shallow cut on her stomach.

She gathered chakra into her feet and hands, pulling herself out of the water and landing on it, grabbing a kunai and blocking Masakazu's sword just in time. She felt herself pushed back a few steps by the force of his strike, but she merely pushed against his sword with her chakra-enhanced strength causing him to disengage his sword from her kunai in an effort to maintain his balance.

She whipped past him, running across the water towards the forest. He charged after her, and she could only hope the shadows that had darted into the dark alcove of trees a few moments earlier were her teammates and the other mist-nin.

"There's no use in running, bitch!" Masakazu roared as she continued running across the river. "Why don't you just show me your neck and let me slit it right now? It will make this so much easier for all of us. I'll even tell my shinobi to kill your friends quickly."

"I'm not too worried about them." She twisted around long enough to launch two of her kunai at him before she flipped back around to continue running. "They're like cockroaches," Sakura grinned. "They just won't die."

"I heard that Sakura-chan!" She heard Naruto call from ahead of her as she entered a clearing that the river ran through. Naruto was engaged in battle with three mist-nin, who were blowing through his kage bunshin easily.

Sai was fighting off two more, his ink tiger tackling one to the ground and ripping out the man's throat.

Sasuke moved almost too quickly for her to see, his limbs merely flesh-colored blurs as crimson liquid spurted from the five shinobi who had attacked him. The mist-nin were good, however, and blocked the mortal attacks. Still, they sported several gashes along their bodies, and they looked murderous.

"Keep your mind on your own battle." Sasuke cut into her thoughts, his voice tight as he dodged a large water dragon that shot from the river, his Sharingan blazing crimson.

"Che. Just make yourself useful." Sakura shot back, slamming her fist into the ground. A large spire of rock shot up in front of Masakazu, causing him to lunge to the right. She was waiting, her hands glowing. She slammed her fist forward but he anticipated her movement, pulling up his sword to block her.

Her fist hit the cold metal and she felt two of her knuckles break from the contact. But her healing chakra took care of the injury quickly, and she leapt backwards to heal her arm from earlier, since she was now given a second of reprieve as Masakazu stepped back to evaluate his strategy.

He began rapid hand signs, and Sakura saw the water behind him bulge and ripple. The intense chakra usage made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She took a step backwards, readying herself for the attack.

As the water surged upwards it formed a sharp point, twisting in a mass of foam like a large drill. She saw Masakazu give a feral grin before the water shot towards her. She leapt to the left and the water slammed into the ground—and drilled straight through it. That was when she noticed the slivers of ice moving throughout the water. If even the edge of the attack hit her than her skin would be shredded by the ice blades.

She felt the earth rumble beneath her and she leapt upwards, cursing. "Dammit!" The water broke free of the ground right beneath her and she tried to twist in midair, barely missing the water.

Still in the air, she began her own rapid hand signs. She took a deep breath and then blew, poison gas erupting from her mouth. It apparently caught Masakazu by surprise, who had believed that all she used were physical attacks. The water transformed into a wall, catching the gas and liquefying it, trapping it inside of the liquid.

_Darn it. Now the moment I get hit with that water and it cuts me I'll be poisoned. _She dug her heel into the ground as she landed. The ground was malleable and soft from the water that Masakazu had manipulated.

She smiled to herself as she began another jutsu, even as Masakazu's drilling water—now laced with poison—shot towards her.

A few feet in front of her the earth morphed and bulged, until an earthen toad sat in front of her, giving a small croak. Then it opened its mouth, its muddy tongue shooting forward and wrapping around the water drill. It sent it careening into the ground once more, and the toad jumped backwards, opening its mouth wide as the surge of water erupted from the ground towards Sakura once more.

Sakura merely gave a grin as the toad opened its mouth to croak and dirt shot from its mouth in torrents, mixing with the water and turning it into a heavy sludge, which landed on the ground with a sickening splat.

_Thank you Jiraiya-san for that mud-toad jutsu. _She'd have to do something for the Ero-sennin in repayment for the newly acquired skill. The toad turned back to a puddle of mud, as Sakura finished the jutsu. She didn't have enough chakra to withhold it for much longer. She'd need the rest of her chakra for healing.

Sai was bleeding heavily from his side, having been too slow against the blade of ice one mist-nin brandished. He was currently locked in battle with the said shinobi, their blades pressed against each other, neither one backing down as they forced all of their strength into their arms.

Naruto had sent two of his opponents flying with his great ball rasengan, and was now dodging several priahna shaped figures made of water. One latched onto his leg and he let out a growl.

Sasuke stood opposite his last opponent, and Sakura saw the mist-nin's water dragon twisting in the air, trying to break free of the hold of Sasuke's own, compliments of his Sharingan.

Sakura moved abruptly to the right, feeling the wind whisk past her with the force from Masakazu's blade. It cut into the ground, and Sakura took the opportunity to gather chakra into her fist, delivering a bone-shattering uppercut to the man's chin. She heard a crack as he went flying across the clearing, skimming the water like a skipping stone before he crashed into a tree on the far bank.

She saw him twitch, slowly rising to a sitting position. She saw several pieces of bark stabbing through his flesh, and the skin was torn off of the back of his arm. His face was a bloody mess, and she knew his jaw was broken. How he had gotten off without his neck breaking was a mystery to her.

But she could tell that he wasn't going to survive more than half a minute longer as he shakily stood, before he fell back down to his knees. "…b…itch…" He managed to cough through his mask, which was torn and disfigured, just like his newly broken jaw. He began a set of hand signs, seemingly in a daze. Sakura's eyes narrowed as she watched him finish them.

Nothing happened.

His fingers went lax and his hands dropped to his sides. He breathed raggedly for a few moments, and Sakura only then noticed that the others had finished their own battles.

Then he lifted one hand slowly, his blood-covered fingers clenching as he groaned out, "Crimson needle splinters."

And his fingers closed.

Sakura felt pain engulf her arm and it was so sudden that a scream, escaped her lips, which she hurriedly tried to bite back as tears pricked her eyes and she landed on her knees.

"Sakura!" She heard Naruto yelled, but she didn't pay him much attention as she watched Masakazu fall to the ground, never to get up again—and then down at her arm.

She just stared, feeling herself become whoozy from blood loss.

Her arm wasn't supposed to look like that, was it?

Someone was kneeling beside her, but she just continued to stare at her arm. They touched her other arm tentatively. Yes, the other one, the one that wasn't pleasantly numb and yet on fire at the same time.

* * *

Naruto swallowed, staring at her, not knowing what to do. The fight had been hard, and he was feeling the after-effects of using so much chakra. His own legs felt like they would collapse out from under him like Sakura's had done. He felt the scores of cuts along his body heal themselves with a small burning sensation. 

Sai walked up beside him, his face emotionless like always. But there was a tightness to it, and his lips were compressed to a thin line as he tried to ignore the pain that his stomach wound gave him.

Sasuke said nothing as he walked over to Sakura behind the others. He knew that Sakura's wound wasn't exactly fatal—the mist-nin had been too near death to pull off anything like _that_—but he had a feeling it was much more painful than any of the jutsu he had used on her.

Naruto touched her uninjured arm and she didn't flinch, merely stared down at her ruined one.

Millions of thin, crimson needles were jutting through her arm, seemingly having sprouted from inside. Sakura was shaking, and they could see that her maimed arm wasn't moving. The tips of her pale fingers were turning blue and purple.

"Sakura-chan? You ok?"

"C-cold." She hissed out, trying to summon chakra into her other hand. "It's c-co-ld."

"What's wrong, hag?" Sai went back to his old nickname for her in his concern. Sakura would have smiled at the thought, but she was too preoccupied with the needles jutting from her skin to do so.

"It's ice, isn't it?" Sasuke finally asked, his voice low.

She nodded absently. "C-can someone st-start a f-fire?" Her entire body was shaking, and Sai pulled off his shirt, throwing it around her shoulders. That didn't stop the shaking as she let out a haggard breath.

"What for?" Naruto asked, not understanding why she suddenly seemed to have developed hypothermia.

"S-so I can m-melt my b-blood."

* * *

She hissed, a soft sound issued from clenched teeth as the crimson needles slowly became liquid again and the blood trickled down her arm in rivulets. The warm cloth that Sai had placed in a pot of boiling water was doing wonders for the wound, but the sharp intensity of her blood turning from crystallized daggers inside of her bloodstream to liquid again was extremely painful. 

She was finally dressed in her own clothes, a cloak wrapped around her body. Naruto had gone to get their packs earlier, after Sasuke had started a fire and settled down to Sakura's right and Sai had rubbed her shoulders and back to get the feeling back into them as she had placed her arm tentatively over the fire.

Her entire right side had almost been frozen by his jutsu. She'd used her healing chakra unconsciously, severing the onslaught to keep it from any of the major organs on her right side. But the act had taken its toll on her body, and she'd only just had enough chakra to heal Sai. She'd seen that he was less injured than Sasuke, and when she'd offered Sasuke help he'd shrugged and said his wounds would heal on their own.

She'd accepted this as typical male pride speaking and had decided to let him be. She wasn't going to bend over backwards just to heal a few of his cuts.

"So we've killed Oonishi," Sasuke commented, taking a bite of his rations. "And we got rid of those mist-nin. They seemed a little powerful, didn't they?"

"Yeah." Naruto jumped in, frowning. "Don't you think Tsunade-baachan would have known they were that strong? I mean, I was afraid I was going to start sprouting two tails or something." He grinned at the last part, but his smile faded at Sakura's shrug.

"She knew."

"Eh?" Naruto blinked, while Sai's and Sasuke's eyes narrowed a bit.

"So she told you they were strong then?" Sai questioned.

Sakura nodded.

"Why didn't you tell us, Sakura-chan? We could have been caught by surprise if we didn't know!"

Sakura snorted. "You succeeded, didn't you?"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sasuke finally bit out.

"Because I don't have to if I don't want to, Uchiha." Sakura snapped back, her pain making her a bit more emotional than usual. "I'm the leader of this mission and it was my duty to choose the best course for my team, the course that would lead to less casualties."

"And so leaving us in the dark was the best choice?" Sasuke almost sneered.

Sakura nodded. "It was. If you three had known that those shinobi were extremely powerful, tell me right now, would you have let me go into the building alone after I told Sai to leave?"

Silence.

"I didn't think so." Sakura muttered, lifting her cup of tea to her lips with weak, trembling fingers. "You would have made the mission more difficult with your concern."

"That isn't true!" Naruto wailed. "We would've—" He stopped himself, grunting. "It still isn't fair for you to not tell us."

"As our captain for this mission she had every right to withhold that information." Sai said cheerfully. "I would have done the same thing, dickless."

"Thanks, bastard." Naruto snorted.

Sai then turned to Sakura, his gaze turning a bit worried. "Why did you kiss me?"

…

…

…

Sasuke blinked.

…

…

…

Naruto suddenly lunged across the fire, tackling Sai to the ground. "What the hell did you do to my Sakura-chan!?!"

"Get off of him, Naruto." Sakura grumbled, too tired to move and hit him. "_I_ kissed _him_."

…

…

…

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto wailed out. "How _could_ you?"

"If I had not covered Sai's face with my own than the guard would have recognized him, or asked him why he was off duty. This gave him a valid excuse for his presence in the hallway. Also, it gave me time to come up with a plan to kill the other guard."

"So you _kissed_ him?" Naruto still looked completely dumbfounded. "Sakura-chan, girls don't just go around kissing guys they don't know—or assholes that they _do_ know." He shot at the emotionless ex-Root member.

Sakura snorted. "Don't start this, Naruto. We've completed the mission. That's all that matters."

"B-but."

"This matter is closed for debate, Naruto." Sakura wrapped her cloak tighter around herself. "Who wants first watch?"

"Stop changing the subject." Sasuke drawled. "This wasn't the first time you've kissed a man before, was it?"

"What's it to you?" Sakura shrugged, "Jealous?"

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto gasped. "You can't mean…WHO!? Is it Kiba? Or Shikamaru? Or Choji? Or Shino? Or…_Neji_!?!?! I'll kill them!"

Sakura let out a small laugh, but her patience was running thin. "None of _them_, Naruto." _Let it drop before this gets out of hand._

"…b-but…" Naruto resembled a fish out of water, his mouth opening and closing, eyes wide. "…you wouldn't just…_kiss_ a guy you didn't know, would you?"

Sakura began unrolling her sleeping bag. "I'll tell you what I told Sai, Naruto. I'm a kunoichi. What I have to do for missions is merely another way of obtaining what I need."

Sai had never seen Naruto turn so pale. He himself felt a bit sickened, knowing exactly what she was talking about. He'd read about enough seduction missions to understand her words.

It wasn't uncommon for female ninja to be sent on missions where they would have to use their bodies for information or other ulterior motives.

"S-Sakura-chan…" Naruto actually looked like he might be sick to his stomach. "They…people…they touched you?"

Sakura stiffened a bit, but merely nodded. "Hai."

"I don't…" Naruto blinked a few times, and Sai saw tears begin to gather in his eyes. "I don't understand."

"She's a whore, Naruto."

Naruto's head whipped around to the speaker of the comment, and his eyes met Sasuke's dark obsidian. Sai stared at the Uchiha silently.

Sakura had frozen for a second at his words, but she merely turned around, sitting down on her sleeping bag.

"Are you mad that I didn't save myself for you like I'd planned to so many years ago?"

He didn't answer, but she saw a small blush tint his cheeks. He was surprised that she hadn't screamed at him for the blatant insult he had given her. Instead, she had taken it in stride, as if she had expected him to say something like that.

Naruto just looked from Sakura and Sasuke, too astonished at everything he was hearing to do anything.

Sai knew better than to speak, so he merely listened.

"It's my job to seduce men and offer my body for information or to lull enemy shinobi into a sense of complacency. I knew that the moment I became a kunoichi that some day I might be sent on missions like these. I'm a shinobi of Konohagakure and I will fulfill any mission that my Hokage sends me on. It doesn't matter what I must do, as long as I am protecting my village by doing it than I can endure it."

"B-but _enemy_ _shinobi_?" Naruto croaked out. "You mean you…you had _sex_ with them?"

She rubbed her aching arm, saying nothing.

"Hn."

She looked up at Sasuke's grunt and gave a sneer. "What's wrong, Sasuke? Perhaps if you'd stayed a missing-nin for a little longer I would have been sent to fuck you and then kill you in your sleep too. Too bad you missed out, huh?"

"Sakura—" Naruto began, wanting this painful conversation to stop. It was just too much for him. His walls seemed to be caving down on him, and he slapped his hands over his ears like a child, trying to block out the sound of her speaking.

_Not his innocent Sakura-chan...how could she ever allow them to touch her like that?_

"Or perhaps I could have slid a kunai passed your ribs in the aftershocks of pleasure. I'm told I can do amazing things with my tongue." Her voice had taken on a dry, pained tone, as if the only way she could talk about it without crying was by laying it on in this way.

"Stop." Sasuke hissed out, as Naruto clenched his eyes shut, tears running down his cheeks.

_It hurts Sakura-chan! Please, stop it!_

Sakura tried to meet Sasuke's eyes, but he avoided direct contact.

"Why so skittish?" She snapped icily. She let out a harsh laugh, "Don't tell me you're a _virgin_." She crinkled her nose a bit as she gave a small smile—one of the only ones she'd ever given him. "The way Karin goes on I'd think you two were fucking every night."

"Stop it!" Naruto groaned.

Sai didn't say anything, confused and utterly unable to respond to anything at all. He was thinking back to all those missions Sakura had gone on without them. When they'd been sitting in their own rooms at night had she been lying with a man—an _enemy shinobi_?

Sasuke grunted. "I've never done anything of the sort with Karin."

"Ah, but you have yet to tell me whether or not you've had sex."

"I have." Sasuke gave his own smirk. "Multiple times."

Sakura gave a dry laugh. "Thought so. Don't lecture me on my choice of profession, Sasuke. Isn't it funny, how a man can have sex with whoever he wants and he's praised for it, but a woman who sleeps with more than one man is a whore?"

"Stop it…stop it…" Naruto whispered.

She ignored him, because if she stopped now she felt as if she would cry. The condemnation she saw in Sasuke's eyes, the pity in Sai's, and Naruto's tears were too much for her to handle.

This was exactly what she had tried to avoid for so long.

Sasuke said nothing more, merely rolled over in his blanket, facing away from her.

That was when she felt herself engulfed in a large hug, and Naruto's body shook against hers as he cried. "S-Sakura-chan…I'm so sorry."

"Don't say it." She bit out, not wanting to hear him. She didn't need his sympathy. It would just make it worse.

"I should h-have _protected_ you." He whispered into her neck, where he'd buried his face.

She put her arms around his shoulders tentatively, looking over him to Sai, who gave her a small smile—one that wasn't completely fake, and a nod. Then he laid down in his own sleeping bag.

"You didn't have to protect me, Naruto." She placed a glowing hand to his neck, and she felt him begin to ease into sleep. "I chose the missions myself." And then he slumped against her and she placed him on his sleeping pack, wrapping his blanket around him securely. She wiped a few tears from his cheeks, before she turned to Sasuke's rigid figure.

"I'm taking the first watch." He said nothing, but she ignored it as she wrapped her cloak tighter around herself and leaned towards the fire to keep warm. Whatever he thought of her, she shouldn't care. His opinion didn't matter, right?

Than why did it still hurt that he thought so little of her?

_I didn't need your protection, Naruto. I chose all of those missions myself. I did it because I knew I was strong enough to handle the mental and psychological damages those missions cause. _

_I did it so that the others wouldn't have to._

_You deserve to be Hinata's first as well as her last. She deserves to keep that innocence of hers._

She swallowed, staring into the flames as she let the tears slide down he cheeks. No one was watching, she'd allow herself a small moment of weakness.

_And Ino isn't as strong as she pretends. She looks thick-skinned but she isn't. She's too emotional. She would never be able to sleep with a man and then…kill him…_

She lifted out a hand to touched the flames, feeling the heat lick her fingers. She stopped a few inches from the actual flame, gaze clouded with tears.

_I'm so sorry Naruto…I never meant to hurt you._

_…_

_…_

_…_

_But this is the lesser of two evils._

_I'm strong now. _

_And I'm proud of myself for my strength. I know that known of you can see that it's a strength but it is…it's my own way of protecting all of the people precious to me. _

_My own way of fulfilling my ninja way._

* * *

**(A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! I hope all of you understand Sakura's mentality here. It's understandable, and in this story I'm trying to focus a lot on the psychological aspect of being a shinobi. Killing and seducing takes a toll on the mind, after all. **

**Well, onto the next chapter!**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka**

**Pick-up line: Are you from Tennessee? 'Cause you're the only ten I see.)**


	14. Chapter 13: Mad World

**Chapter 13**

**Mad World**

The rest of the journey home was made in silence. Sakura had stayed ahead of the rest of the group, her face grim and determined. Naruto had ventured to speak with her the first morning and she'd brushed him off coldly, telling him that if he didn't drop it she'd ask Tsunade to never put her on a team with Naruto again.

That had promptly caused him to clamp his mouth shut. He apparently couldn't say anything to her without mentioning how sorry he was for failing her; however, even _after_ her threat.

After his fifth attempt at conversation during one of their meal breaks he had gone a few minutes of idle conversation before he'd just stared at her, and then begun crying. She had actually _slapped_ him, after he'd begun whispering beneath his breath that he would protect her from now on and he would talk with Tsunade and make sure that she would never have to deal with those kinds of missions again.

Sai had never seen her look so angry.

_"I'm not a coward, Naruto!" She ground out, pulling his face towards hers. "I won't back down from a mission. I won't let someone else take my place because I was too afraid I would get hurt."_

_"But it's rape!" He managed to yell, tears streaming down his cheeks. _

_"It isn't rape if it's consensual." Sasuke had commented back offhandedly._

_Sakura had stared at him, as if unsure of what to say, before she'd given a small sneer. "And you'd know all about that after living with Orochimaru, wouldn't you? Tell me, how does it feel to actually _have_ something stuck up your ass for once, instead of just acting like it?"  
_

_Sasuke bristled and his eyes flashed crimson, but Naruto had merely shaken his head. "Sakura-chan…why would you…"_

_"Just shut up, Naruto. This conversation is over. I swear if I hear another word about this I will never speak to you again. That's a promise."_

_"But Sakura-chan—"_

_"I don't want your fucking pity, Naruto. So why can't you and Sasuke just act like Sai and _shut the hell up_?"_

After that they'd all remained quiet. It was so strange, to have such a long period of silence, especially with Naruto on the team. It had been an uncomfortable few days, and no one was more relieved than Sakura to finally enter Konoha's gates.

She looked down at her torn and muddy Jônin vest. _I need to go home and fix this. _"I'll give Tsunade the primary mission report tonight after my rounds at the hospital. Be sure to have your own mission reports ready in two days." And then she walked away from the three males, and their dismissal was clear.

Sasuke saw the Anbu watching him, not even trying to hide their presence from him. It was their way of saying, 'We'll always be here, so don't fuck up.' He merely 'hn'd and made an excuse of needing to train before walking off in the direction of the Uchiha compound.

Naruto had watched him go, shoulders slumped. He'd finally turned to Sai, who had been waiting for him to speak ever since Sakura had left.

"…Sai?"

"Hm?"

"How can you act like nothing's changed?"

"Nothing _has_ changed, Naruto." Sai answered back readily. "You're the one who is making this so horrible for everyone. If you would let the subject drop then everything would go back to the way it was."

"It will never be the same."

Sai shrugged. "It's your choice as to whether or not things change or stay the same."

"How can you stand there and not feel angry when you know that men have _touched_ her like that?" There were tears in his voice again.

"You're too naïve to be a shinobi, Naruto." Sai spoke truthfully. "You need to understand the complexity of our job. We don't have the ability to choose what we do for our missions, or when."

"But do all kunoichi really…do that?"

Sai shrugged. "Some of them are lucky enough not to be chosen for those kinds of missions. Why do you think female shinobi rarely marry?"

"Eh?" Naruto blinked. He hadn't really thought about it. Now that he did, he couldn't remember anyone who had a _mom_ who was a shinobi except Kiba, and Kiba didn't have a dad, did he?

"It's because kunoichi constantly have to use their bodies on missions. It would be a tense relationship, wouldn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you believe you could make love to Hinata-san knowing that she'd slept with countless of other men before?"

Naruto blushed a deep red. "Don't say that! I love—" He blinked, before he stopped. "I…you don't think she _has_ do you?"

"Of course not, dickless. You'd know if Hinata-san was having sex. She's easy to read. The only problem you'll have with making love to her is the fact that you're missing the most important appendage required for those kinds of situations—" He blocked Naruto's hit with a fake smile.

At least Naruto was _getting_ back to normal.

Or so Sai believed.

* * *

Bam.

Sasuke slammed his leg against the training dummy, ignoring the small trickles of blood that leaked through his pants. The dummy was already halfway destroyed, and tiny shards of wood were slamming into his skin with each kick.

Bam.

Yet he continued.

Bam!

The sweat trickled from his brow as he breathed in deeply, feeling a strange anger boiling inside of him that he didn't understand.

BAM!

He didn't care. He didn't. Of course he didn't. Why _would_ he? He was emotionless, he had no time for friends or teammates or family.

So why was the fact that Sakura had slept with other men so damningly frustrating!?

The training dummy splintered and his eyes widened a bit as he stared down at the broken pieces. For a second he merely looked at it, letting his anger slowly fade a little.

He knew why he was mad now.

She was his teammate. Long ago he'd realized that they had been his family, but he'd hidden that away. He was angry and frustrated in the same way that Naruto was, or that Kakashi would be. He was mad because Sakura was supposed to be innocent, cheerful, and sweet and she wasn't anymore.

_You always told her that if she ever wanted to succeed in life she needed to take her job as a shinobi seriously, _a voice inside his head sneered. _Well, congratulations, Sasuke._

He punched the training pole that the dummy had been tied to and watched it splinter. The action was oddly soothing.

_This is why I left in the first place. Emotions make me weak, distracted…_He thought in annoyance. _If I am constantly thinking of Sakura with other men, worrying about her because she is my teammate, then I will never become strong enough to kill Itachi._

He gave a growl of frustration, running a hand through his hair before walking towards his home. The presence of the Anbu was a little soothing to him, as he closed the door to his home and walked to the kitchen for a drink.

They were a constant reminder that he was a prisoner here.

And that meant he could _escape_, right?

He held no loyalty to this village. They only existed to hold him back. Even team Hebi was a hindrance. He needed to get away from it.

He gave a soft sigh, taking a sip of cool water.

_I'm sorry Sakura, but your problems are distracting me. You don't even care that you're ruining my chances of killing my brother, do you?_

_I know Naruto wants me to stay, but he's the only one. _

_And I don't need friendship to kill Itachi. Quite the opposite actually, ne?_

He placed the glass onto the table with a small sigh and a cold smile. _It's about time I show Konoha that no one can hold an Uchiha against his will._

* * *

Naruto stumbled blindly through the streets, tears still falling down his cheeks in rivulets. He'd left Sai ten minutes earlier, saying that he needed to go and get some ramen. But the truth was that he couldn't stand to smile any longer. It hurt so much to pretend to be happy and forget about everything Sakura had gone through.

He knew where he was headed, the street becoming familiar even through his tears. He'd walked this route so many times before. But usually Sai and Sakura walked beside him, both being emotionless in their own way but both smiling and joking as well.

He trudged up the stairs of the apartment building, ignoring the worried glances of the neighbors. He reached the door, opening it and walking inside without a second thought. If he'd been in his right mind perhaps he would have been surprised that the door was unlocked.

Kakashi-sensei never left his door unlocked.

But it was, and Naruto understood why the moment he entered.

He knew.

It was in the way his shoulders sagged as he sat on the edge of his couch, head in his hands. His breathing seemed normal, except for the small hitch in his shoulders every time he inhaled, as if something was catching in his throat.

"…sensei…" Naruto whispered, unsure of what to do as he stood there in Kakashi's living room.

Kakashi said nothing, he didn't even look up at him. Naruto didn't know what to do. He had expected Kakashi to be thoughtful, understanding, the one who could help _him_ through this problem.

"Naruto." His voice was oddly strained, but otherwise it was the same. He even looked up and gave his old smile, lines appearing at the side of his eye. The fact that a tear track stained his otherwise immaculate black mask was the only indication on his face that he had been crying. He patted the spot on the couch beside him.

Naruto sat down slowly, feeling his body acting on its own accord. "You know."

"I know."

"…how?" Naruto croaked out. "When?"

"Last night." Kakashi whispered. "Genma was drunk." He shrugged, as if that was an adequate answer.

"What does that mean?" Naruto snapped, wiping the tears from his eyes furiously. "How would _he_ know?"

"He was sent on a few of those missions with her." Kakashi answered back. He gave Naruto a sardonic smile, "Neji, Shikamaru, Asuma, Genma, Yamato…they all knew. They knew and they never told us." He gave a hurt laugh. "Even with the Sharingan, I was blind to it all."

"I just…I feel so horrible for her, Kakashi-sensei."

"Don't." Kakashi answered back softly. "We have to support her. If you pity her than it will only make her feel worse. It will make her feel guilty, which is what she's been avoiding all this time."

"But—"

"I always knew that it was a kunoichi's job to use their bodies. I had merely hoped that because she was the Hokage's apprentice Tsunade would never send her on missions like that."

Naruto opened his mouth to speak again but Kakashi stopped him.

"Sakura was the one who came across a mission the first time, seeing that Tsunade had put Ino down for special training in the art of seduction." He gave a small sigh. "Apparently she flipped. She told Tsunade that she would do the mission. Ino had enough on her mind with becoming the heir of the Yamanaka Clan. She said that Ino would need to find a husband so that they could continue the clan and the only way that was going to happen was if she remained a virgin."

"That's stupid. Sakura needs to do that for her…clan…" He trailed off, realizing that Sakura didn't _have_ a clan. She came from a civilian family.

"It was a weak excuse, even Sakura knew that. But Tsunade agreed. Sakura convinced her with the fact that she was a fast learner, and she was a better healer than Ino, so she would be able to…help keep away the pain on her first time." His voice caught at that, and he coughed, turning away from Naruto so he couldn't see the pained look cross his face.

Silence reigned.

There was nothing more to say, after all.

* * *

_I should apologize to him._ Was her first thought as she took a sip of her tea, sitting on the couch in her apartment. She felt a little guilty for saying those things to Naruto. He was her best friend, her brother. She had known this was how he would react…and yet she did nothing to soften the blow.

_He didn't deserve to hear it like that._ She thought sadly as she gave a soft sigh. _Naruto's been too kind and understanding to me already. I shouldn't have thrown it at him like that._

But she couldn't change the past.

_I'll ask him if he wants to go out for ramen, and then we'll have a nice long talk. _She thought with a small smile. _I can always get him to come and talk with me if I mention ramen. _She stood, placing her tea on the small table beside the couch before she stripped off her muddied and torn Jônin vest. She'd end up fixing it later that night, no doubt. But right now she was just going to let it soak to get all of the blood out of the cloth.

After she did that she continued towards her bathroom, slipping off the rest of her clothing as she went. She slowly turned on the shower until she obtained the water temperature she wanted before she stepped inside.

She let the water run over her and closed her eyes. The warmth helped relieve the soreness in her muscles, and she gave a soft smile at the sensation before beginning to wash.

There was no thought behind it.

She didn't believe the water would wash away her memories of the man's hands and lips on her body. She'd grown too numb to even care about that kind of thing now. She wasn't a child who would believe in such silly little things. There was no emotion behind it at all.

It was merely a methodical process. She had blood on her; it needed to be washed off. She had a few cuts she hadn't been able to heal; she needed to clean them out so they didn't become infected.

That was all.

After her first mission she'd learned that the feeling of the man's body would disappear in a few days. No amount of scrubbing or crying ever sped up the process. In fact, it only seemed to prolong the pain. So she'd given up on such meaningless fantasies of making herself clean.

There was no way she could ever be clean again.

Sanitary, yes. But not clean.

There was a difference, a big one. Sanitary meant her body was uncontaminated, that there was no dirt or blood. Clean, on the other hand…clean meant she was spotless. Fresh. Renewed. And that wasn't possible.

_Tsuande-shishou will want to see me soon. But first I'll need to go and check on the rest of team Hebi._ She sighed, stepping out of the shower and hurriedly running a towel over her body to dry it. She pulled on her bra and underwear without a second thought, slipping on her hospital uniform, throwing on her doctor's coat. Her Jônin vest was in the wash. It would be clean before she came home later that night.

_Let's get this over with,_ she thought with a sigh as she walked out of her apartment, hair still damp and thoughts a little troubled.

* * *

It was later that day that Sakura stood in front of Tsunade in her newly cleaned Jônin vest. She'd done her rounds at the hospital; she'd checked on Suigetsu's burns that had been healing quite well in her absence and Karin's stomach wound that had been inflicted by Kakashi's lightening blade was almost nonexistent. Sakura knew, however, that the medical staff hadn't healed the wounds completely on purpose. After all, team Hebi was still an enemy of Konoha. No one had done much with Juugo's psychological treatment, so Sakura had to begin all over again, since most of her earlier progress had faded. That had taken a while, but Sakura felt a little better about his mental stability now. Of course, she would still never let him out of that hospital room without several chakra seals covering his body.

"Sakura…" Tsunade cleared her throat, lacing her fingers together and propping her elbows up on her desk. "Take a seat." Her voice was business-like and methodical…an indication that she was going to say something that Sakura didn't like.

Sakura sat anyway, her movements stiff and tense. She pulled the mission scroll out of one of her vest pockets, handing it to her shishou. "This is the main mission report. The others will hand in their own first-hand accounts in two days."

Tsunade nodded. "Of course."

"If that is all that you need than I should get some rest before my rounds tomorrow. I'll be spending most of the day with Juugo after all—"

"They found out." It was a statement, but a question as well.

Sakura sighed. "Yes."

"How did they take it?"

"Sai took it relatively well, as was expected. Also, Sasuke's reaction was as I had thought. Naruto was a bit more emotional than I believed he would be." Sakura shrugged.

"Oh?"

"I didn't think he would have blamed himself." Sakura sighed, rubbing her temples. She felt a headache coming on.

Tsunade nodded sympathetically. "Tell me about Sasuke's reaction."

"He called me a whore." Sakura answered back readily, completely unperturbed. "I am surprised he didn't throw it at me more often, but he seemed content with only a few insults every now and then."

"Well, he _is_ a bastard." Tsunade grumbled, "I guess I had almost hoped to get some sort of emotional reaction out of him."

Sakura snorted. "That would only work if he had viewed me as something important. Since I am merely an annoyance to him, I figured there would be no emotional damage like with Naruto."

Tsunade poured herself a glass of sake, before she poured a second one and handed it to Sakura. Sakura took it after a moment's hesitation.

"Kakashi knows as well. Apparently Genma had a few more drinks than was necessary."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "He must have been completely drunk then. Genma usually holds his alcohol fairly well."

Tsunade nodded. "That's usually why I make him one of my drinking partners, you know. He can go for _hours_ without even looking slightly tipsy—" Sakura cleared her throat and Tsunade rubbed the back of her neck, blushing a bit.

"Right. Sorry. Business meeting only." She gave a lopsided grin. "You know, he's pretty cute. I bet you and he would get along well."

"I've had enough of 'getting along' with Genma." Sakura sighed, thinking back to her numerous missions with the man. "I swear that man would have sex with anything that stood still long enough."

Tsunade burst out laughing. "But you must admit, he's a good mission partner."

Sakura gave a soft smile. "Hai. He's very efficient." She wouldn't mention that his crude sexual comments were rather funny and that he made her feel comfortable around him. When she was on one of her seduction missions with him he never let it show if he was uncomfortable with her role or not. He would often joke with her about it, saying that he'd had sex with enough people _he_ should probably sign up for some of those missions too.

He never judged her.

And that's what she'd needed all along.

"Is there something else you wanted to talk to me about, shishou?" Sakura asked softly. "I really need to get going."

"Yes, actually." Tsunade coughed, looking uncomfortable. "You see…" She began rummaging through her desk, before pulling out a stack of files.

She began flipping through them. "Sakura, we both know that you've asked to become a sensei."

Sakura blinked a second, unsure of where this was going. "…hai. But I understood that I would have to wait several years. A shinobi must be twenty or older before they are even nominated for the position."

Tsunade nodded. "Yes Sakura, but before that…anyone who wishes to become a sensei has to go through many tests. The job of a sensei is just as dangerous—perhaps even more so—than that of Anbu. Not only do you have to look out for yourself on missions, but you must also look after three inexperienced genin who don't know how to defend themselves. You've seen what happens first hand when a genin team meets up with a strong shinobi."

Sakura nodded, remembering back to the time when Kakashi had fought Zabuza and the three of them had stood there, petrified.

"Also…I recommended you to begin these tests."

"…shishou…?"

"But the council doesn't think you're up to it." Tsunade sighed. "While your leadership skills are admirable, the council says that your social skills are a bit er…lacking."

"Lacking?" Sakura questioned, raising one eyebrow.

"They think you aren't fit to lead a group of children." Tsunade said flatly. "It isn't the same as a group of trained shinobi who will follow orders without question and know exactly what you want from them. You have to be patient with students, caring, gentle…" She frowned, taking a deep breath before she spoke again. "And quite frankly the council doesn't think you can do that. And to an extent I agree with them."

Sakura nodded stiffly, "Of course." She knew rejection when she heard it. It hurt to hear, but she had known it would happen sooner or later.

"But they've decided to give you a chance to prove that you can become a sensei. You'll be fitted with the most pretentious team of miscreants we can find for the upcoming Chûnin Exams and let you at it."

"I have a feeling the council already has a team picked out for me, Hokage-sama?" Sakura questioned, almost afraid of the answer.

"Yes." Tsunade swallowed, waiting for all hell to break loose. "Sasuke Uchiha needs to take the Chûnin Exam this year."

…

…

…

Sakura blinked a few times, her face still emotionless.

…

…

…

"Are you insinuating that I am to become Uchiha Sasuke's _sensei_?" Her tone was acerbic. "Surely I misunderstood you."

If it had not been Sakura, and if this situation had not been so serious, Tsunade would have laughed at the look on her face. It was halfway between amazement and horror, which was an amusing combination.

Tsunade shook her head. "You heard me correctly, Sakura. Besides the fact that his team needs a sensei, they also have to do a large number of missions so that they can qualify to even take the Exam."

"You've got to be kidding me." Sakura bit back. "You wish me to watch over Uchiha Sasuke while he goes on some meaningless D-rank missions?"

"No."

Sakura opened her mouth to ask when Tsunade answered for her.

"Karin and Suigetsu will be his teammates. You'll be watching over all _three_ of them."

Silence.

Tsunade was suddenly afraid that her student just might snap and lunge over the desk to strangle her.

"Karin and Suigetsu are not from Konohagakure. Why are they to become Konoha Chûnin?"

Tsunade shrugged, her face disgruntled. "It was the Council's idea. They say that the inhabitants of the village will feel more secure knowing that all the members of Team Hebi willingly want to become shinobi of Konoha and serve the village."

Sakura snorted.

Tsunade made a face, "I know. It's a bunch of bullshit but I can't just overrule them."

Sakura nodded curtly, "What of Juugo?"

"Juugo is currently too mentally unstable to participate in anything like this."

"Have the members of Team Hebi agreed to this already?"

"They have agreed to take the Chûnin Exams." Tsunade nodded.

Sakura gave a small, wry smile. "But they don't know who their sensei will be?"

Tsunade grinned back, taking a swig of her sake. "No. They don't. So what's your answer, Sakura?"

…

…

…

"Very well."

* * *

Sakura found Naruto later that day and waved him over with a small smile. He saw her, of course, but his face twisted uncomfortably as if he wasn't sure whether or not to walk over to her.

So she chose for him, closing the distance in a few strides with another small smile. "Hey Naruto." She slung an arm around his shoulders. "Want to go get some ramen?"

He shook his head, "No." He whispered, and his voice was strained.

Sakura resisted the urge to bite her lip and gave a soft sigh instead. "Naruto…look, I'm sorry alright? I didn't mean to be so harsh."

"Can we talk about this somewhere else?" Naruto asked softly, gripping her hand tightly with his own as if afraid she'd disappear. Sakura nodded, squeezing his hand back.

"Ok, where do you want to talk?"

Naruto looked up at the Hokage faces on the cliff side and then back at her with a strained smile. Sakura could tell he still wanted to cry and that her presence was making him uncomfortable. But she needed to do this.

She wasn't going to lose Naruto just because she'd been insensitive.

So she followed him up until they finally reached the face of the fourth. They sat on the small ledge right below his chin, looking out across the village that was slowly darkening as the sun faded in the distance.

Sakura still held Naruto's hand.

"I just want you to know that this shouldn't change anything." Sakura murmured.

She heard Naruto give a derisive snort. "That's what everyone's been telling me."

Sakura nodded, before she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Naruto…I don't want this to break us apart. I love you too much for that, ne?"

He gave a small smile, his arm going around her shoulder. "Yeah…I know…" His arm tightened around her. "I just don't want us to ever leave each other. We're family. I never want to see you hurting and it just…it makes me feel useless to know that I can't protect you anymore."

"I know…" She whispered, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek and grinning as he looked over at her. "But you can't father me forever, ne?"

He nodded slowly.

"I'm just glad that you're here, Naruto." Sakura murmured. "If I didn't have you…who knows what I'd do. If you weren't here there wouldn't be a team seven." She gave a soft laugh. "Then again, there hasn't been a real team seven for years now."

"But we're team seven _now_ aren't we?" Naruto broached hopefully.

"No." Sakura answered back readily. "We haven't been a team seven since Sasuke left. Those bonds have been broken Naruto."

"But they were so strong!" Naruto argued. "Bonds like that can't just be broken."

"Strong bonds are usually brittle. Iron rusts…" Sakura sighed. "We rusted a long time ago. Now we've finally broken."

"You're wrong Sakura-chan." Naruto spoke softly, seriously, so unlike him. "Those bonds were never severed. Team Seven's bonds don't break. They _bend_." He gave her a thoughtful smile. "They can always be straightened out in the end, because we're closer than anything in the world."

She said nothing.

"Every night I go home and I thank whoever's listening that I have all of you, even that idiot Sai. Because we're a family and we wouldn't be one without him, we've been through too much."

She still said nothing.

"And there's never a second of the day that I'm not thanking my lucky stars that you stayed with us," Naruto murmured, and Sakura saw the wet film that covered his eyes as he tried to keep himself from crying. She blinked, a bit confused at his reply.

"Because you didn't have a reason to. We were all searching for something, needed something to cling to. We'd all suffered so much loss and pain and it was only natural that we became close. Misery loves company."

Sakura shifted on the ground beside him.

"But you didn't have that. You had a perfect life and a perfect family and yet…yet you allowed yourself to be insulted and hated and hurt just to keep us together. Because you held us all in place. You made sure none of us strayed too far from that circle of light you always brought with you."

Sakura snorted. "I didn't do a very good job of that, apparently." And both of them knew what she meant.

Naruto shook his head furiously. "You still protected Sasuke, even if neither of you realize that. You kept him in your light, even if it was faded and weak from pain and loss. You still showered him with it so that he wouldn't be consumed by darkness."

And then Naruto was holding her arms, turning her to look him straight in the eye. "You gave us all of it and didn't leave any for yourself. You didn't care if you fell into the darkness because you just wanted to save us. You, something kind and warm and gentle, gave your light to four dark and ungrateful shadows. And you're lost in the darkness that we gave you."

Sakura looked down at the ground, but Naruto grabbed her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. "It's our fault for doing this to you Sakura-chan…and we're going to fix it. We're going to take away the darkness, I know it."

…

…

…

"I _promise_."

Sakura kissed his forehead. "Thank you Naruto. It's nice to know you care." She said nothing about how she didn't believe it was possible to fix what had happened between all of them. She didn't want to ruin it for him.

Naruto gave a soft yawn, lying down. Sakura leaned back, wrapping an arm around his waist and placing her head on his chest. She was a little tired too, now that she thought about it.

"We've been really busy lately, ne?"

"Mhm." She agreed, closing her eyes.

Unfortunately their naptime was interrupted by Naruto's stomach. It growled loudly, and Sakura started laughing softly against his stomach as Naruto groaned.

"You need some ramen." Sakura pointed out. "Here. My treat." She fished out some money from her pocket and handed it to him.

"Aren't you going to come? There's enough here for two people."

Sakura shook her head, looking towards the east gate of Konoha. "No…I think I'll just stay out here a little longer. Why don't you go and ask Hinata?"

Naruto blushed. "She's probably sleeping right now. It's really late."

Sakura nodded. "Well, in all reality you won't be satisfied with one bowl so just buy yourself some extra. Think of it as my plea for forgiveness."

Naruto gave her one last hug. "You don't need to ask for my forgiveness, Sakura-chan." He then stood, dusting off his pants. "Well, I'll go and ask Iruka-sensei if he wants some ramen. He's probably still working late at the academy right now."

Sakura watched him go, smiling softly before she stood herself, heading towards Konoha's gate.

* * *

Sasuke shouldered his traveling pack, walking slowly down the darkened streets, almost smirking. The Anbu who had been sent to guard him were currently watching over a very special snake summoning that had transformed itself to look like Sasuke. The snake had matched its chakra levels to his own perfectly, and he'd hid his own so well that the Anbu hadn't even noticed when he'd snuck out the back of the compound.

All of Konoha was dark, and the only sound he heard were a few crickets chirping in the background. This was the same path he'd taken out of Konoha the first time. The feeling of déjà vu wouldn't leave him, even as he tried to shake it off.

"Leaving so soon?"

Sasuke looked ahead to see Sakura leaning against the side of the gate, watching him calmly.

He was a little surprised that she was there, waiting for him. She saw the question in his eyes and gave a humorless smile, "I couldn't sleep, and as I was walking I felt your chakra signature."

"Hn."

"So you're just going to leave the rest of your team here?"

"I thought you didn't care about being my teammate. Don't get all emotional and weak on me now, Sakura." Sasuke sneered.

Sakura snorted. "I meant team Hebi."

Sasuke shrugged. "They've become a hindrance."

"Ah." Sakura murmured, raising an eyebrow as she pushed herself off of the gate and began walking towards him. She was unarmed from the looks of it. She was wearing the normal outfit of a Jônin, minus the vest. Her shirt was dark, blending into the shadows.

"Are you going to stop me?"

"I didn't want you here in the first place." Sakura commented offhandedly, stopping in front of him. "Why would I try and stop you from leaving? The moment you walk out of the gate you'll be a missing-nin again and it will be my top priority to track you down and kill you this time."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

She shrugged.

"What makes you think you could do it?" He asked after a moment of silence.

"What makes you think I couldn't?"

He merely gave a derisive snort, walking passed her. She didn't move, didn't reach out to grab him as he went passed. He was surprised at that, but he didn't let it show as he continued a few more steps. The sound seemed to echo across the empty area.

"I love you so much!"

He froze in his tracks at the sound. The scream wasn't quite as loud, and there weren't tears in her voice this time, but it still brought him back to that night so long ago, where he'd turned his back on Konoha for good.

The day she'd sworn she had loved him.

"If you stay with me, I'll make sure you won't regret it! Every day will be fun. We'll definitely be happy. I'll do anything for you. So…please stay here!"

He turned slowly to look at her, afraid he'd see tears.

There were none.

She was watching him, a sardonic smile twisting her lips.

"That's what you want to hear, isn't it? That I'll give my life for you? That I'll go the ends of the earth just so I can be with you, no matter what you do?"

He said nothing, feeling something tight in his chest that he couldn't quite identify.

She appeared behind him, and his eyes widened a bit in surprise. He should have moved; he was fast enough to move away, but for some reason a part of him made his reflexes slow, made it so there was no resistance as her hand hit the back of his neck and he felt himself succumb to the darkness.

"I may not care if you stay or not, but I won't let you hurt Naruto any longer." Were the last words he heard before he fell unconscious.

* * *

When Sasuke awoke he expected to find himself on a cold stone bench. It would have merely added insult to injury, after all. But instead, he was propped up on several pillows with a blanket thrown around him. He was sleeping on a couch.

It wasn't his.

Sakura was leaning against the couch from where she sat on the floor, her back to him. She said nothing, but he knew that she was awake. She'd probably been awake the entire night.

Judging by the weak, faded light coming from behind the window curtains the sun was just beginning to rise.

There was another moment of silence, but it wasn't necessarily uncomfortable. In fact, it was a bit soothing to him.

"You didn't leave me on the bench."

She turned her head slightly to look at him, and a dry smile was placed on her lips. "It was very tempting."

He snorted.

"But then the image of you, poor and defenseless, being taken advantage of by some rabid fangirl was too much for my noble disposition. I couldn't leave knowing that such a horrible thing could happen." She was almost giving a genuine smile now.

His mouth twitched a bit.

Sakura watched his reaction closely. If she was to become his sensei and wanted him to listen to her than she would have to act more…friendly. That's what Tsunade said the council thought she was lacking. The ability to be calm, kind, and patient with children.

And Sasuke was definitely an immature little child.

Yes he was an immature little child in a hot man's body, but that didn't matter, of course. He was still immature.

* * *

**(A/N: Well, there you have it! I have finally updated Shades of Grey:D It took long enough, ne? The next chapter will, of course, have Sasuke, Karin, and Suigetsu meeting their new 'sensei'. THAT should be fun…**

**Until then, see ya!**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka**

**p.s. my mind is blank at the moment, no pick-up line or anything this time around. Sorry.)**


	15. Chapter 14: Meet Team 13

**Chapter 14**

**Meet Team 13**

_Sakura watched his reaction closely. If she was to become his sensei and wanted him to listen to her than she would have to act more…friendly. That's what Tsunade said the council thought she was lacking. The ability to be calm, kind, and patient with children._

_And Sasuke was definitely an immature little child._

_Yes he was an immature little child in a hot man's body, but that didn't matter, of course. He was still immature._

There was a moment of silence…rather strained and uncomfortable as Sakura gave a small sigh, shifting on the ground beside the couch. The sleeve of her shirt slipped off her shoulder but she didn't seem to notice as she turned to look at Sasuke.

"Tsunade-shishou said that she needed to see you, Karin, and Suigetsu this morning. Something important, apparently." Sakura commented.

"Hn."

"Perhaps you should get your lazy ass off of my couch and go." Sakura broached offhandedly.

Sasuke snorted, but didn't move. "I already know what it's about. Suigetsu, Karin and I will be taking the Chûnin Exams. Before that we need to do a few useless D-rank missions with our new _sensei_." The way he said the word made her _almost_ smile.

_If only he knew…_she thought gleefully. Perhaps it was the maniacal laughter ringing in her head that made her speak up, "You're on a genin team? My, my, what an interesting outcome. And here we all had such high hopes that the Uchiha prodigy would become a Chûnin the first time around."

"Hn."

"I wonder if your sensei will make you do something stupid like Kakashi's bell test." Sakura pondered aloud.

"It won't matter. My sensei will merely be some Jônin who is most likely weaker than me. The person serves no purpose. They are only for show."

"Ah." Sakura nodded. She gave a fake smile worthy of Sai and patted him on the back. "Well, I hope you have fun with your sensei later today, Sasuke. Now why don't you get out of my house and head to the Hokage's office before Karin tears my door down searching for you."

"Why should I leave?" Sasuke asked.

"Because I'm going to take a shower and usually you have to take your clothes off for that." Sakura commented airily.

Sasuke snorted. "You've taken your clothes off in front of men before. I doubt you were modest then. What's the difference now?"

Sakura shrugged. "I guess I just thought we'd gotten over that." She sighed softly, before grabbing the edges of her shirt. "Oh well, you're right. Modesty isn't really my strong suit."

Sasuke swallowed uncomfortably. He hadn't meant for Sakura to start _taking off her clothes_. He'd expected her to get angry at him for insinuating once again that she was a whore, not a private strip tease.

If he had been a lesser man he would have fainted on the floor, blood trailing from his nose as Sakura's shirt lifted a bit more, showing the tantalizing curve of the base of her breast. But this was Uchiha Sasuke, so he merely stood.

"I suppose I'll head to the Hokage's tower now. Karin and Suigetsu will be waiting for me."

"Have fun." Sakura answered back, smirking to herself as he headed to the door. "Oh, and Sasuke?"

He turned to look over his shoulder at her, his hand on the doorknob. "What?"

"You'd better not eat breakfast this morning."

His brow furrowed a bit in curiosity. "Why not?"

"You might throw it up with all the intense training you'll be doing with your sensei."

He snorted derisively, before heading out, shutting the door of her apartment with a definite click.

Sakura smiled once again, this one a bit more genuine as she stood and walked to her bedroom. She was having breakfast with Naruto, Kakashi, and Sai after all.

* * *

Sasuke was the last to enter Tsunade's office. That was to be expected, of course. After all, Karin and Suigetsu were both still under surveillance at the hospital, so their trip was shorter.

But twenty minutes late was a little much.

"Glad your highness could grace us with his presence." Tsunade said dryly as he entered.

"Hn."

"Where were you, Sasuke-kun?" Karin asked, scooting her chair a little closer to his own.

"Sakura's."

Karin's chair tipped over and she tumbled to the ground with a gasp. She hurriedly scrambled to sit herself back down in the chair. "What? Why? When? How long?"

"Che. Not Sakura's fault she's hotter than you." Suigetsu drawled from where he sat. "I'd tap that ass too if I got the chance."

Karin shot him a glare before turning her attention back to Sasuke. "Well?"

"Actually, Uchiha, I would like to know what you were doing there as well. My Anbu reports say that you were at your house all night…" Tsunade raised an eyebrow in question. "Care to elaborate?"

"I slept at Sakura's."

"But…what could you possible be doing there?" Karin sputtered.

"Just replace 'at' with 'with' and I think you'll understand, Karin." Suigetsu taunted.

Karin let out a horrified shriek. "Don't even joke about that, you bastard! Sasuke-kun would never sleep with a fat cow like her!"

"AHEM." Tsunade glared at the redhead. "That 'fat cow' is my _apprentice_. I would suggest you keep those comments to yourself."

There was a small moment of silence.

"Yeah. And at least she has curves." Suigetsu put in. "She'll never be mistaken for a guy like you."

"Shut up." Karin muttered under her breath, her cheeks red. She had just insulted the Hokage's apprentice…not a good idea…_shit._

"Is there a real reason that you called us here?" Sasuke asked after a moment of silence where Karin tried to melt into the floor as Tsunade fixed her under her strongest glare.

Tsunade blinked, turning to the young Uchiha. "Yes, actually. I just wanted to tell you about your sensei."

Suigetsu groaned. "This is so stupid…I can't believe I agreed to take the stupid Chûnin Exams."

"You'll be meeting with your sensei in an hour at the memorial stone." Tsunade commented. "For your sake as well as hers, try and behave, will you? You'll have your first D-rank mission after you meet with your sensei."

"She's a girl?" Suigetsu perked up in his seat. "Is she hot?"

Tsunade sighed. "I guess so, how would I know? And what does that have to do with anything?" She merely began leafing through a few files on her desk. "Now all of you are to head to the memorial stone now. Anbu will be watching you until your sensei arrives."

"Right." Suigetsu sighed, standing slowly. "Let's get this over with."

Sasuke merely walked to the door, while Karin hastened to follow.

Tsunade smiled softly as the door closed behind the three shinobi. As soon as she was sure they were out of hearing she gave a gleeful laugh before looking over at her reflection in the window. "_You_, my dear Hokage, are a genius." Then she leaned back in her seat, a smug grin plastered on her face as she began her paper work.

_We need the Uchiha to stay in Konoha…and I need my little Sakura-chan back._ Her gaze softened a bit.

_He's good for you Sakura, even if neither of you see that yet._

* * *

Sakura was almost dreading breakfast. The discovery of Sakura's lost innocence was still a sore and uncomfortable topic, and Sakura didn't know if she could stand anyone bringing it up at breakfast. Not when she was already a little nervous about her meeting with her new _team_. Their files were tucked primly under one arm as she knocked on the door of Kakashi's apartment.

Sai opened the door, giving her his fake smile as she walked inside. "Good morning."

"Hello Sai."

"Why was the Uchiha at your house last night?"

_Ah, so they've resorted to stalking me now…_Sakura saw Naruto peek around the corner of the doorway from the kitchen, Kakashi behind him.

"We were having hot, mad sex."

Naruto face-faulted, and Kakashi fell on top of him, frying pan in hand.

Sakura laughed loudly, although the sound was a bit hollow compared to her old laugh. "Kakashi, I think you spilled the eggs."

He had. All over Naruto's head.

Both of them stood, looking a bit sheepish, while Sai blinked a few times. "If sex involves being intimate with a person…then how can it be 'mad'? And doesn't having sexual relations cause the body temperature to rise anyway?"

Sakura merely shook her head as she entered the kitchen, the others a moment behind.

Sakura managed to save the toast, spreading butter on the pieces before placing them on a plate in the middle of the table. "Sasuke couldn't come because he had a meeting with Tsunade-shishou." She said nothing on the fact that she hadn't invited him. Meals with her boys was something special to her. Sasuke would have a long way to go before she thought of inviting him.

"Why would Tsunade-baachan want to talk with him?" Naruto asked curiously, piling bacon onto his plate.

"Something about the Chûnin Exams." Kakashi supplied, sitting down beside Naruto.

Sakura sat across from him, Sai beside her. She took a sip of her orange juice. "I wanted to ask…why the sudden interest in foreign breakfast foods?" She motioned to the eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, pancakes, and waffles piled onto the table.

"It's easy to make." Kakashi muttered. "And it's the only way Naruto will actually eat breakfast. You know how he gets."

"Hai." Sai agreed. "But Kakashi-san says that it's unhealthy for Dickless to eat ramen for breakfast. Is that true?"

Sakura merely smiled softly as Naruto tried to lunge over the table at Sai to beat him senseless with a pancake. She then turned to Kakashi, and he gave her a small smile, although she could see the pain behind it.

He leaned over the table and pulled her into a small hug, squeezing her tightly. "Don't worry Sakura." He whispered. "I'm proud of you for doing what you believe is right."

They stayed that way for a few moments.

Naruto and Sai turned to look at the two of them, as Naruto yelled out, "Hey! Hands off of her sensei! That was definite groping!" He pointed at Kakashi's left hand accusingly, which was placed at Sakura's waist.

"Naruto, my ass is a little further down." Sakura drawled. "He wasn't anywhere close."

Naruto pouted a bit, puckering his bottom lip. "He's always trying to grope you, Sakura-chan! He _always_ picks you to spar with, and we all know he's doing more than just trying to pin you to the ground! It's in his blood! Our sensei's lineage is full of perverted senseis! If one of _us_ becomes a sensei, it's only sensible we'll be perverted too. It's tradition."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Eh?" Sometimes Naruto's rants were too complex for even her sharp mind to comprehend. Alright, _complex_ wasn't exactly the word she was looking for…

"Speaking of training, I'll spar with Sakura today." Sai said cheerfully. "That way she won't have to be worried about either of you trying to grope her."

"Why would _I_ grope Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, clearly offended.

"Well, as you said, Kakashi-san had a history of perverted senseis. You've been trained by both Kakashi-san and Jiraiya-san, so it only seems logical that you would be the member of this team to become a pervert as well."

Naruto began to sputter out a protest. "And why would _you_ be a safe sparring partner, huh?"

"Because his sexual preference is questionable?" Kakashi guessed, earning a glare from Sakura and a confused look from Sai, as well as a fit of laughter from Naruto.

Sai merely continued with his explanation. "It's just that I can control my own sexual urges better than either of you, since I do not read explicit novels or have a history of perverted senseis."

"It's because he's a eunuch." Naruto whispered to Sakura. She promptly smacked him over the head, sending his face into a pile of eggs.

"Speaking of training, I can't come to practice today." Sakura commented offhandedly, still holding Naruto's head down in the eggs. "I'll be busy these next few weeks before the Chûnin Exam."

"Why?" Naruto asked as Sakura finally let him up to breathe.

"She's going to be training a genin team." Kakashi supplied.

Naruto swallowed the eggs in his mouth before he launched over the table. "That's awesome!" He leapt over the table—still hugging her—and proceeded to twirl her around.

"You did it, you did it! You're going to become a sensei!"

"Naruto, get your hand off of my butt."

"Eh?" Naruto's face turned bright red as he jumped backwards as if burned. "I'm sorry Sakura-chan! I didn't know, honest!"

"Yep, that was definitely a grope." Kakashi murmured.

"Hai." Sai agreed.

"You were right Sai. Naruto _is_ going to become the pervert of my team."

* * *

This was pointless. Sasuke still couldn't see the reason for the formation of this team. The only reason he was taking the Chûnin Exam was because the further he went in the shinobi ranks the easier it would be for him to get on missions that could lead him to Itachi.

That was all.

But that did not mean he had to sit here, listening to Karin's incessant chatter while Suigetsu looked thoughtfully up at the birds in the tree above them.

"It's been an hour and five minutes!" Karin exclaimed angrily, looking down at her watch. "I bet our sensei isn't even going to come. What a bitch."

"It's good to see you too." Came a female voice from their left.

Suigetsu, Karin, and Sasuke all turned to look at the woman leaning against a tree on the other side of the clearing, watching them with a spark of interest.

"Oh. It's just you." Karin muttered, recognizing Sakura's pink hair. "What do you want? Can't you see we're busy?" She latched onto Sasuke's arm. "We were working on our _teamwork_."

"Ah." Sakura nodded, "But for teamwork don't you need a sensei?"

"That's who we're waiting for." Suigetsu informed her. "What are you doing out here?"

"Waiting for my genin team." She said calmly.

"Eh? Genin team?" Karin's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You're too young to be a sensei."

Sakura nodded. "Hai. But to become a sensei I have to go through many tests. Because of this, I've been assigned a team of genin that already have field experience."

Sasuke's eyes widened in disbelief before they narrowed quickly in anger. "No."

Karin and Suigetsu looked from him to Sakura, still not comprehending.

"What is it, Sasuke-kun?" Karin asked worriedly.

"You're not going to be our sensei." Sasuke snapped.

"You don't have a say in the matter." Sakura supplied.

"WHAT!?" Karin shrieked, comprehension donning. "YOU'RE our sensei?"

"Ha! I _knew_ our sensei was gonna be hot." Suigetsu smirked.

"Please calm down you two." She stated, looking to Sasuke and Karin. She made no motion to reprimand Suigetsu, since he seemed to be taking it all quite well.

Karin was still fuming, hands clenching as she let out what could have been considered a hiss. "No way. I won't stand for this."

"Is this the only way we can become Chunin?" Sasuke finally asked.

Sakura nodded.

Sasuke then turned to Karin. "Suck it up. This is necessary."

Karin did a very nice imitation of a fish out of water, opening and closing her mouth in surprise a few times before she nodded meekly, still glaring at Sakura.

"I don't see what you two are so uptight about." Suigetsu drawled. "These arrangements work fine with me. Hey teacher," He grinned wickedly at Sakura. "You think you can stay after class and give me a _private lesson_? I think my genjutsu is a little lacking."

Sakura snorted.

Karin yelled at Suigetsu for being a perverted bastard.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as they all continued to look from one another. Or rather, the three members of team Hebi watched Sakura as she began to flip through the files that had been tucked under her arm.

Flick.

Suigetsu wondered how much longer he could be content with watching grass grow.

Flick.

_This is so pointless. I can't believe that bitch is our sensei…_Karin thought murderously.

Flick.

_I must do this to kill my brother. That is the only reason I'll accept this…I just need patience._ Sasuke told himself.

Flick.

"What's our team number?" Karin blurted out, wanting to say something to break the silence.

"13." Sakura answered back monotonously, flipping through files and not even bothering to look up at the three of them.

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow before he snorted, "So we already start off bad, ne? They just _had_ to give us an unlucky number. Figures."

"Shut up!" Karin snapped, still furious. "This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard! _You_ be _our_ sensei? I'm probably OLDER than you!" She pointed a finger accusingly at Sakura.

"Che." Suigetsu snorted, before mumbling under his breath, "But you have the maturity level of a five year old."

Karin let out a defiant shriek of rage, lunging for him.

"Stop it."

Suigetsu and Karin both froze at Sasuke's command. Karin immediately clasped her hands together in front of her, looking every inch the angelic girl—in stark contrast to moments before when she'd had her hands inches from Suigetsu's neck—before she subconsciously smoothed down her skirt. "Of course, Sasuke-kun!"

Suigetsu rolled his eyes at Karin's antics and Sakura gave a small smile. Perhaps she and Suigetsu would get along nicely after all. She let the smile fade, however, as she turned to Sasuke, gaze serious. "I am the sensei of this team. I expect you all to follow my orders when I give them, understand? You may have followed Sasuke before, but he isn't your sensei. I am."

"I bet my skills are better than yours." Karin hissed.

Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose, looking every inch the impatient teacher dealing with a young troublemaking student. "I really don't give a damn."

"Is that any way to treat your teammates?" Suigetsu drawled teasingly.

"She isn't our teammate, she's our sensei." Sasuke bit out. He still didn't look pleased with the idea at all, but he said nothing to that affect.

"She doesn't outclass us!"

"But I out_rank_ you. So unless you plan on continuing as genin until you are forty than I suggest you listen to me right now." Sakura answered back.

Karin clamped her mouth shut after looking as if she was going to retaliate. She merely huffed, sitting down on the ground in front of Sakura, crossing her legs daintily. She reminded Sakura so much of her younger self it was almost physically painful.

Suigetsu sat down beside her, minus the grace. His long legs sprawled out in front of him and his sword rested on the ground beside him—still within easy grabbing distance.

Sasuke merely sat down in a meditative position, waiting for Sakura to speak.

"You don't like this arrangement, I understand that." Sakura looked at each of them in turn. "_I_ don't like this arrangement either. But you want to gain the trust of the villagers of Konoha, don't you?"

"I could care less. I just don't want to get executed, if you catch my drift." Suigetsu piped in.

"I do what Sasuke-kun wants." Karin blushed, looking over at him.

"Hn."

Sakura shrugged. "Karin, Suigetsu, neither of you have _actually_ betrayed this village which is the only reason why you are being given this chance. However, because you are originally from an enemy village and also the fact that you associated yourself _with_ a known traitor of Konoha—" At this everyone's eyes flickered to Sasuke, who remained emotionless. "—you are being held in suspicion and the villagers distrust you. If you want to show them that you actually mean to reform from your old ways than do so by becoming respectable shinobi of this village."

"You're acting awfully nice to us, Sakura-_chan_." Suigetsu grinned.

"It comes with the job." Sakura drawled. "And I would prefer it if you called me sensei, Suigetsu."

"Right, Sakura-_sensei_." Suigetsu winked. "If I'm bad will you have to spank me?"

"Who's the stupid immature one now, you pervert!" Karin snapped, aiming a smack for his head. He dodged, and Karin merely sat back down next to Sasuke, steaming, while Suigetsu laughed softly.

_Act nice, don't lose your patience, just…remember…what this is for…_Sakura chanted over and over again in her head. "Alright." She looked back up at all three of them. "Before we begin our first mission I would like you to tell us a few things about yourselves. Likes, dislikes, etc."

"This is stupid." Sasuke muttered. "We did this before. And all of us know each other here."

"Not necessarily." Suigetsu leaned back on the grass, propping his head up on his arms. "I don't know what Sakura-sensei likes." He gave her a lopsided grin. "I hope it's me."

Karin sighed. "Well, I'll start then. The faster we do this the faster we can get it over with." She gave a soft blush. "Um…I like…well…" She swallowed, before she got ready to speak, but was cut off as Sakura turned to Suigetsu, "And you?"

"I wasn't finished!" Karin screeched.

"We all know about your obsession with Sasuke." Suigetsu muttered. "It's not like any of us want to hear you sing his praises anymore. I swear, with the way you talk about him he's a god who was born as a gift to the whole female sex."

Sakura snorted and Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Karin's face was now as red as her hair.

"Alright." Sakura snapped her files shut. "I have a feeling we won't get any more progress with this exercise. I'll now brief you on our first mission."

"We don't have to walk a dog do we?" Suigetsu asked, almost as if he were dreading the answer.

"No." Sakura answered back, her mouth tipping up a bit at the corner in a threatening beginnings of a malicious smile.

* * *

"I hate you." Karin hissed to no one in particular, but everyone knew that it was probably directed at Sakura, who was currently sitting down against a tree in the yard, watching the three of them work.

Suigetsu merely ran his brush over another board of wood. "Suck it up Karin. It's just paint."

"It's getting all over my clothes!" Karin whined.

"Hn." Sasuke merely dipped his brush back into the paint can, before he finished up the first coat of his section of the wall.

He'd expected a stupid simple task for their D-rank mission…but painting an old woman's house wasn't what he'd had in mind.

And Sakura was sitting under the shade of the tree, calmly sipping some tea that the owner of the house had offered her, watching their progress. She'd made a few helpful comments early on, but had stopped after she'd gained a few bone-chilling glares from Karin and one of Sasuke's 'this-look-is-reserved-for-people-I-loathe' looks.

Suigetsu took a small break, grabbing the water bottle from the pouch on his hip. He took a sip, giving a small sigh of contentment.

"I'll be back." Sakura commented, standing as she headed towards the front of the house, "Keep going, you're doing wonderful work."

Karin began entertaining thoughts of many different torture scenarios, all involving their pink-haired sensei.

Suddenly she shrieked, as cold liquid splattered across her head, drenching her hair and shoulders. She stared in horror at the white droplets that pooled on the ground in front of her. Then she looked up at Suigetsu, was standing beside her, looking innocent with a now empty can of paint.

He shrugged. "It tipped over on accident. Promise." His grin told her otherwise.

"How DARE you!?" Her clothes were ruined…and how the hell was she supposed to get the paint out of her hair!?

She began yelling at Suigetsu, who promptly ignored her, before taunting her with an off-comment, while Sasuke tried to ignore them both. Finally he dropped his brush, letting the paint splatter across the porch.

"I'm leaving. This is pointless." He then began to walk back towards the training grounds.

"Wait Sasuke-kun!" Karin called after him, running to catch up.

Suigetsu sighed. "Aren't we supposed to finish this?" But then he shrugged, following after the other two.

Sakura came back just as they were leaving. She looked at their retreating backs, eyes narrowed as she calmly placed her bag on the ground. Anger and shame made her cheeks color a bit. She looked down at the cold drinks she'd bought for the three of them before looking back at their retreating forms.

_This is the last straw._

* * *

Sasuke was wondering if Sakura was ever going to show up when he felt her familiar chakra signature as she walked into the clearing. Her gaze was hard, her eyes glittering furiously.

"You left."

"Hai."

"Don't ever do that again." Sakura said coldly. "That was a mission, Sasuke. If you want to be eligible to take the Chunin Exams than you had better start listening to orders."

"Perhaps we merely need a more competent sensei." Karin taunted.

Sakura's eyes flickered in her direction, before she focused on Sasuke once more. "They follow you, Sasuke. I suggest you try and behave like someone your age, rather than your maturity level."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "I don't have to listen to you, Sakura. You have no real authority over me."

"I am your sensei."

"Prove it." Sasuke taunted. "Show me that you're worthy to be my sensei."

The kunai was launched at him so quickly he almost didn't have time to dodge. He merely grabbed the offending weapon, launching it back towards her. But she was gone, coming up on his left and slamming her fist forward. He grabbed her wrist, but he misjudged her momentum, causing them both to become unbalanced, falling onto the ground.

Their fight did not cease, however, as they rolled through the grass, both trying to gain the upperhand over the other.

"Hey Karin, why don't you jump in and I'll add a little mud, ok?" Suigetsu commented from the sidelines.

Sakura gave a grunt as Sasuke pushed her down onto the grass, straddling her hips. His eyes were smoldering, and he gave a small, smug smirk.

"See, Sakura? You're weaker than I am. Just give it up. You hold no power over me."

He saw Sakura's eyes harden, flashing a brilliant emerald in her anger before her knee went up—and he let out a choked groan as his entire body stiffened. If he had been anyone else he would have curled up in the fetal position, but he merely let himself roll off of her, trying his hardest not to make a sound.

"Sasuke-kun!" Karin ran over to him.

"Try and repopulate the Uchiha Clan now, bastard." Sakura snapped, before she stalked off the training grounds, calling back over her shoulder, "We meet here tomorrow morning, same time. Our next mission will be cleaning up all the paint you spilled over that woman's porch."

Suigetsu merely stared after her, mouth hanging open in surprise.

It was several minutes later before Sasuke was actually capable of coherent thought.

"Are you ok?" Karin asked worriedly.

Sasuke wanted to retort, 'No, I'm not. Why don't you have someone slam their knee into _your_ cock with inhuman strength and tell me how it feels?' but he had a feeling that Karin would _not_ take the comment well and he really didn't want to have to deal with _two_ infuriated kunoichi at the moment.

* * *

**(A\N: Hope you guys liked it. :D This story is coming right along! One more chapter of missions before the Chunin Exams I think...well, until then, see ya!**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	16. Chapter 15: Dirty Minds

**Chapter 15**

**Dirty Minds**

She made it back to her apartment with only a small twinge of guilt. _I shouldn't feel bad, _she thought sourly. _They're the ones who are screwing around when they should be taking things seriously, not me!_

She grabbed a beer from her kitchen—vaguely wondering how the bottles had gotten there in the first place until she remembered that Kakashi and Tsunade had decided to try and turn her into an alcoholic—and then walked into her living room.

She slumped down onto the couch, twisted the cap off of her beer absentmindedly and took a sip. The thought that she was underage didn't cross her mind—or the fact that she had often lectured others for drinking their problems away. It was one beer. It wasn't as if she was overindulging.

She placed a glowing hand to her back to get rid of the soreness that had gathered there from when Sasuke had slammed her into the ground. _I should have used my chakra, _she thought for a moment. _Without it he is physically stronger than I am. _

She took a sip of her drink and gave a soft sigh. _Who am I kidding? He _is_ stronger than I am anyway, isn't he? What if he had gone into his curse seal mode during that retrieval mission? I wouldn't have stood a chance._

_Yes you would have, _another voice snapped. _Because Tsunade-shishou said that if he went into his curse seal mode you were to eliminate him. And when you don't have to spare the man's life, it's much easier to use your full potential._

She shrugged to herself. _I still can't believe I bought those idiots drinks. And this is how they repay me? They made me look like a goddam fool._

Then she gave a soft, annoyed sigh. Could she really blame them? They were used to the harsh life that Orochimaru had given them. They were used to being cold and heartless. They were used to looking out for only themselves.

They were _not_ used to following the orders of some little medic-nin, no matter how strong she was supposed to be.

"I suppose I was a little harsh…" She mumbled to herself. "Although Sasuke _did_ deserve it." She cracked a small smile as she took another sip of her beer. The look on Sasuke's face had been priceless.

She looked up as her door opened and nodded her head in greeting to Yamato and Kakashi as they entered.

"Yo." Kakashi waved cheerfully. One small glare from Sakura made him give a nervous laugh before he scurried to the kitchen, saying he needed a drink and that he'd get Yamato one.

Yamato merely sat down on the chair opposite Sakura in silence, giving a small smile.

Sakura merely took another sip of her drink as Kakashi walked back into the room, handed a beer to Yamato, then sat down next to Sakura, slung an arm around the back of the couch, and looked back at her, face now serious.

"I heard you and your team are having a hard time."

"And who told you that?" Sakura asked archly. "Did my little students tattle? Or was it the Anbu that are still guarding Sasuke? By the way, I can handle him on my own. I don't need them watching our every move when I'm capable doing this by myself."

"Could you really fight all three of them if it came to that?" Yamato asked, but Kakashi spoke before Sakura could answer.

"Listen Sakura, the council still thinks that you still hold affection for Sasuke and would perhaps be lenient on him when left alone."

"Excuse me?"

"They think you're still in love with him."

"I'm not." She answered back tartly, but there was a catch in the middle of her reply, and both Yamato and Kakashi heard it. Yamato didn't know what to make of it, while Kakashi gave an almost imperceptible smile.

"Well that's beside the point. There isn't anything we can do about those Anbu, after all." Kakashi waved his hand to brush away the tense atmosphere. "We came here to offer some advice. After all, both of us have dealt with rather frustrating teams."

Sakura gave him a level stare. "There's just a few differences there, Kakashi-sensei, Yamato-taichou." She looked at them both before continuing. "For one, on your team Kakashi-sensei, it was between Sasuke and Naruto and they were merely rivals. And on your team, Yamato-taichou, it was because Sai insulted Sasuke, which pissed Naruto off. On _my_ team, the only thing I have to worry about is myself murdering them." She gave a small sigh, and then shrugged. "And I suppose I have to make sure Karin doesn't try and ravish our dear little Sasuke in the middle of training."

Kakashi chuckled softly, while Yamato smiled.

"Just try being a little nicer, alright?" Kakashi broached. "This is a test, isn't it? I've never seen your fail a test before, Sakura."

She gave a small smile. "That's because I never _have_ failed a test. Save for the first Chûnin Exams." She wrinkled her nose a bit at the thought. Then she smirked. "And I don't plan on failing this test either."

She stood. "You're right, Yamato-taichou, Kakashi-sensei. I need to think more of their feelings, I suppose. Living with Orochimaru could have caused sever psychological damage. I need to…put myself in their shoes…" She grimaced a bit at that.

"I'm glad we could help." Kakashi smiled.

Sakura snorted. "What do you think I should do to…" She looked a bit uncertain then. "…make it up to them?"

"Well, apologize for one." Yamato began, and Sakura bristled, opening her mouth to defend her actions, but was cut off as Yamato continued. "Even if they were wrong, it will show them that you are trying to understand them."

"Do some trust exercises?" Kakashi offered.

"Try and make them comfortable around you." Yamato put in, "Joke, laugh—"

"—flirt." Kakashi interrupted.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I do hope you mean flirt with Sasuke and Suigetsu, Kakashi-sensei."

"I dunno." Kakashi grinned. "It might be interesting to see you and Karin—"

"You pervert." Sakura grunted. "You need to stop reading Jiraiya-san's books."

Kakashi sighed in defeat. "Alright, you don't have to flirt with Karin…"

"Don't look so disappointed." Sakura deadpanned. She grabbed her doctor's coat from the coat rack, and then turned to the two of them as she slipped it on. "I have to head over to the hospital. You can stay as long as you want, I don't care." She opened the door and walked outside, calling back to them as she left, "And thank you for the suggestions."

* * *

She sat in front of Juugo and reveled in the calm air of the room as she checked over his progress. He had gotten to the point that now Shizune could come and check up on him without fear that he would perhaps get too violent and inhuman strength would be needed. There was still a seal on the door, of course.

"How are you doing today, Juugo-san?" She asked politely as she noticed his half-eaten tray of food.

"I'm doing fine, Sakura-san." He answered with a smile. He seemed to enjoy her company. She wondered if it reminded him of someone else and that was why he took comfort in it, or if it was because he merely liked talking with her.

"Are you feeling well, Juugo-san? You didn't eat all of your food."

Juugo's eyes flickered to the half-eaten meal and back to Sakura. He looked almost apologetic. "I was not hungry."

"Why?"

"It makes me sick."

Sakura smiled. "I know hospital food isn't all that great. I can go and buy you something else, if you'd like—"

"No." Juugo shook his head. "I…I'm not used to food that tastes like this. It has too many flavors."

Sakura blinked a few times, until her heart clenched as she realized that because of where Orochimaru kept him, he probably ate little more than bread and water, if anything at all. Eating this kind of food, with all of its seasonings and unknown flavors would make anyone sick to their stomach.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and he looked up at her uncertainly. She gave him a calm smile that she hoped was soothing. "If you want, I can ask the cooks to tone down the flavoring, a little. Would you just like some plain rice next time?"

He seemed to sag with relief as he nodded gratefully. "Yes please. Thank you, Sakur-san."

She nodded as she sat back down in her chair opposite him. "Tell me, Juugo...how long ago was your last attack?"

"I haven't had an attack since I was brought here, Sakura-san." Juugo seemed a bit confused at the question.

"I don't mean a full-out transformation." Sakura amended. "I meant…have you felt the change starting to occur and then had it stopped because of the seal?" She motioned to the one on his neck that she and Hiashi-san had created. It was a different form of the Hyuga seal, and it enabled a certain few shinobi—Sakura, Tsunade, Shizune, Kakashi, Hiashi, a few other council members, and the heads of Anbu—to be able to either stop Juugo in an attack or kill him if he ever broke free of his restraints or showed signs of aggression.

Juugo nodded slowly. "I…sometimes I get a twinge." He grimaced a bit and looked up at her pleadingly. "I don't want to hurt anyone. Kimimaro always told me that I needed to rein it in…that I needed to control myself if Orochimaru was ever going to find me useful."

Sakura nodded patiently.

"Do you think, Sakura-san…will I be able to stop these urges completely? I want to be useful again."

Sakura looked down at her charts, not wanting to answer. The council had wanted Juugo executed. He was too much of a risk, they said. Was it bad that Sakura found him so nice to talk to? Or that she loved the fact that he always seemed to notice subtle changes in her and commented on them—like when she'd come in one day with wet hair because she hadn't dried it after her shower and Juugo had seemed genuinely concerned when he said she needed to dry it so she didn't catch a cold?

"You aren't a tool, Juugo-san. You have no need to be _useful_. You are a human being."

Juugo smiled a sad, patient smile, as if he were speaking to a child. "Sakura-san…you think of me as being foolish because I wished to serve Orochimaru with all of my heart, correct?"

She said nothing.

"But I must ask you a question…" He gave another smile. "Isn't it the same with you and your Hokage? You follow her every order without question. You would do anything for her, even give your life for her. Tell me…how is it different?"

"I am no one's tool." Sakura defended.

"Aren't you?"

Sakura blinked at his tone, giving him a searching look as he began whispering something.

"I do not feel. I do not regret. I do not love. I am a tool of destruction. I—"

"Alright, I get it." Sakura interrupted softly, recognizing the shinobi saying she recited only too many times before. "But…" She sighed, but stopped herself from saying anything she would regret. Instead, she changed the subject. "Tell me Juugo…why do you talk so freely with me?"

Juugo looked momentarily surprised. "I thought it was obvious."

"Hm?"

"You're so much like him."

She blinked a few times, before her eyes narrowed. "Like Sasuke?" _Don't you dare compare me to that heartless, bastard of a—_

"Kimimaro."

She stared at him blankly. "…like Kimimaro?"

Juugo nodded with a small smile. "Hai. You're strong and silent, and you follow your leader with great devotion."

Sakura shrugged.

"Shizune-san told me of you. Of how you had no purpose before Tsunade-sama found you. How you were weak and no one thought anything of you before she trained you."

Sakura fidgeted in her seat.

"Before Orochimaru found Kimimaro, he held no purpose. He was abused…but after he had a purpose he felt as if he had achieved something."

"And that makes me like him?"

"That isn't all." Juugo smiled softly. "Kimimaro was always cold, calm, and patient. He never judged me, at least never to my face. He helped show me that I held my own purpose, and he was the only one who could calm me when I began to lose control."

Sakura nodded in understanding. "I see."

"You help calm me too, you know." Juugo whispered.

Sakura turned to look back at him quizzically. "I do?"

Juugo nodded.

Sakura gave him a small smile. "…thank you, Juugo-san." _That's one of them that trusts me. Now I just need to get the other three to do the same._ She fidgeted a little uncomfortably. "Juugo-san…can you tell me…what Karin and Suigetsu are like?"

Juugo blinked a few times, before nodding. "Of course, Sakura-san. I will start with Karin…"

* * *

Karin, Suigetsu, and Sasuke all looked up as Sakura walked into the clearing. Karin glared, Suigetsu smirked, and Sasuke remained motionless as she walked up to them with a small smile.

"You're late!" Karin shrieked.

Sakura rubbed the back of her head with her hand. "Yeah well you see, I got lost walking down the road of life and—"

"Enough stalling _Kakashi-sensei_." Sasuke bit out.

Sakura frowned a bit. Then she lifted up a bag with her free hand. "Actually I brought you all some lunch. I thought that since I was late it was only fair I treat you to something since you haven't eaten."

"Ha!" Suigetsu whooped, snatching the bag from Sakura before he began rummaging through everything.

Karin shot Sakura a suspicious glance before her stomach began to rumble and she pounced on the food as well, yelling at Suigetsu, "Hey you fat pig! Get away from all of the food!"

Sasuke merely sat down and waited for the two of them to finish fighting. Sakura sat next to him and shot him a sideways glance, handing over her own lunch. "I don't think there will be anything left after those two are done. Here."

Sasuke took it hesitantly. "Thank you."

She nodded.

"Why are you doing this, Sakura?"

Sakura gave him a genuinely surprised look, as if she thought it was obvious. "I wanted to apologize, of course. No matter whether or not I was right or wrong I should not have acted so rashly." Her voice was cool and calm, like always, but he noticed that she was smiling a bit as she watched Karin and Suigetsu argue over who would get the last set of dango.

"Also. If there's some way I can make it up to you, tell me alright? We're teammates. I don't agree with everything you've done. I still think you're a cold heartless bastard…but like I said, we're teammates. Let's get used to working together."

Sasuke took a bite of his food, eating quietly.

"After you finish eating we're going to go and finish painting the old woman's home." Sakura spoke over Suigetsu's and Karin's voices.

Suigetsu groaned, "Oh come on, sensei…"

Karin frowned, "I should have known it was too good to be true."

"I'll be helping you so we can get done faster." Sakura commented, "That way we can do some actual training before the day is done. The Chûnin exams are a bit different than when you first took them, Sasuke."

Sasuke grunted.

"Let's do this, then." Suigetsu grunted as he jumped up from the grass. "Time for some manual labor."

"You act like that's a good thing." Karin muttered darkly as they began walking towards the village once again.

* * *

"Ugh!" Karin moaned. "It's so _hot_ out here." She brushed a few strands of sweat soaked hair from her forehead. Her glasses kept slipping down the bridge of her nose as she dipped her brush in the paint once more.

"It's not that bad." Sakura commented from beside her. _You complain too much, just like I used to do._ "I mean, at least we can enjoy the show while we're working, right?" She motioned with her eyes to where Suigetsu and Sasuke were painting. Both had taken off their shirts halfway through the mission and the sweat was glistening off of hard muscle.

Karin swallowed, blushing a bit, before she glared at Sakura. "If you're staring a _my_ Sasuke-kun I swear I'll—"

"I don't know." Sakura smiled, "Suigetsu looks pretty nice shirtless, don't you think?"

Karin blinked, before she looked back at her teammate. "Well I…I suppose so. I never really noticed before." She gave Sakura a suspicious glance. "Why are you being so nice all of a sudden? I hate you, remember?"

Sakura sighed softly. "It's my job to be your sensei. I hold no animosity towards you. It only seems fair that I treat you with respect. We're a team and we need to act like one."

Karin nodded, feeling a little guilty. If she had been in Sakura's position, she would have taken every chance she could to put Sakura down and make _herself_ look good in front of Sasuke.

"I know that it will be difficult to be friends." Sakura continued. "But I would like to say that you are at the very least aquaintences, ne?"

Karin shrugged. Then she gave a small smirk as she held out her hand. "I think I'd rather be rivals."

Sakura laughed a bit, shaking her head. "I don't want to fight you over anything."

"Why not?" Karin asked defensively. "If it's because you think that Sauske-kun is already yours than you're—"

"It's not that." Sakura corrected. "I would not want to fight you because you are a skilled shinobi. Your chakra control probably rivals mine. It would be a difficult battle."

Karin blinked a few times, unsure if Sakura was mocking her or actually complimenting her. She decided she would just drop her hand and go back to work. Sakura sighed beside her, "Doesn't it suck how men can take off their clothes when it gets too hot?"

"Yeah. It isn't fair at all." Karin agreed wholeheartedly. She stopped herself from smiling, however. They were enemies, weren't they? Sakura had to have ulterior motives…but…they were going to become members of Konohagakure, which meant they would be allies. And Sakura was actually amusing when she wasn't acting so frigid and emotionless.

Karin decided she'd _play along_ if only because it was convenient for her. She didn't mention the fact that because she hadn't ever had female teammates before, the ability to actually talk to someone who could relate to her was a relief, or that she kind of liked the fact that there was someone who could keep Suigetsu in line.

"Well, we should just change that." Sakura grunted, grabbing the ends of her shirt, and pulling the sweat soaked garment off over her head. Underneath she wore a simple black band around her breasts, and a mesh top over that.

Karin just stared. "Did you…just take off your shirt?"

"It feels nice." Sakura nodded, her voice calm and her face emotionless again. She didn't seemed to have the ability to fake smiles and laughter for long periods of time. "You should try it."

Karin looked down at her long-sleeved shirt—and immediately unbuttoned it, revealing a top much like Sakura's. She sighed a bit in relief.

"Look at that!" They heard Suigetsu call, "We get a nice little show too. This is the best mission ever, eh Sasuke?"

"Eh!?" Karin immediately glared, "Stop being such a pervert, Suigetsu!"

Sakura merely gave a soft smile as she watched them fight. _I'm getting Karin to trust me now, and Suigetsu…the only one I need to work on is Sasuke. He was my old teammate, it shouldn't be too difficult._ She looked up to see him staring at her, his piercing gaze meeting her own.

He looked away first, grunting as he went back to work.

She shrugged. _I have to get them ready. Especially if they are going to complete the other mission Tsunade-shishou wants them to do during the Chûnin Exams. If I have to be a bit more emotional in order to get them to trust me than so be it. It is a small sacrifice. _She didn't mention the fact that inwardly, she liked letting go just a little bit.

* * *

Karin gave a soft sigh of contentment as she and Suigetsu began walking back towards their quarters for a nice sleep before their missions the next day. Suigetsu looked as drained as she felt.

Painting itself wasn't a strenuous activity for a shinobi. But when it was boiling hot outside it made it a bit more difficult. All Karin wanted to do was take a nice long bath and wash away all the sweat and dirt from her body.

"You and Sakura seemed to be having fun today. Did you finally decide to be nice to each other?" Suigetsu asked with a small smirk.

Karin snorted. "We've decided to become acquaintances."

"Ah." Suigetsu nodded solemnly. "I see."

"What?" Karin snapped.

"I just thought that it looked like you were having fun is all." Suigetsu suggested with a shrug.

"I don't need to have fun." Karin grumbled.

Suigetsu stopped—they were standing in the middle of the street next to Ichiraku Ramen—and turned to look back at her with a serious gaze. "Karin…we aren't in Sound anymore. We don't work for Orochimaru. This is Konoha. Things are different here."

And before she could speak he began walking again. He didn't get far, however, as they heard an excited yell from behind them and Naruto ran up to the two.

"Hey! You're the other members of team Hebi, right?"

"What's it to you?" Karin snarled, immediately on the defensive again. Even if she was a little friendlier to Sakura she wasn't going to be nice to _all_ of the Konoha shinobi if she didn't have to be.

Naruto pouted. "Hey! Be a little nicer. You're members of Konoha now too, aren't you?"

"Yeah." Suigetsu drawled. "We get it. We'll be sure to wave and say hello the next time we're in the neighborhood."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at him.

"Naruto!"

Naruto turned around to see Ino running up to him, panting. Behind her were Kakashi and Sai.

"What is it, Ino?" Naruto asked.

Ino shot a small glare at Karin—the two didn't look like they'd ever get along—and then answered Naruto's question. "Tsunade-sama has a mission for you, Sai, and Kakashi. She needs to see you in her office in a little while. But first she said she wanted me to give this to Sakura." She pointed at a scroll in her hand. "And that I had to wait for Sakura to read it before you could head out."

"Awwww." Naruto pouted. "Sakura-chan isn't going with us?"

"Let's just go and give Sakura her scroll, dickless." Sai smiled cheerfully. Naruto made to lunge at him, but Kakashi held him back. "Let's get going." He looked at Karin and Suigetsu out of the corner of his eye. "Don't you two have somewhere to be?"

"We're coming with you!" Karin blurted out.

…

…

…

"Why?" Ino asked, after the long moment of silence. Even Suigetsu looked confused.

"Well." Karin crossed her arms over her chest, "Sakura's our sensei, right? If she has to leave because of a mission or something we need to know. Besides, I need to ask her about the upcoming Exams."

Suigetsu and Kakashi shrugged, Naruto nodded, Sai did nothing, and Ino merely glared in Karin's direction once more before they all began walking towards Sakura's apartment.

* * *

Knock.

Knock.

Sakura gave a small annoyed sigh as she realized that someone was knocking on her door. She slowly pulled herself from her slumped over position on her couch. It had been _so_ comfortable…

She stumbled to her door and opened it, wanting to glare at the person standing in front of her. But that required energy, and she didn't have any to spare at the moment. After her long healing session with Juugo, her mission with her team, and her other rounds at the hospital later that night she was completely drained.

She blinked a few times as she recognized the black hair and dark eyes of her visitor.

He stood in front of her doorway, looking a bit abashed.

"What is it?" She raised her eyebrow almost threateningly.

"I thought of a way you could make it up to me." He mumbled underneath his breath. Sakura supposed he meant he had found a proper way for her to 'apologize' to him for her behavior the day before.

"Oh?" She blinked. "How?"

He gave a soft sigh. "I'd rather not talk about it out here in the open. Let's go inside." He motioned to her apartment. There was a small tint of pink to his cheeks that was almost invisible.

She nodded, opening the door up a bit. "Alright, but why do you need me?"

"You seem like the type who would know how to do something like this." He mumbled.

"I see." She nodded. "Come in then and let's make it quick."

* * *

"Is that _Sasuke-kun_!?" Karin gasped out, enraged as she saw him enter Sakura's apartment.

"Looks like it." Ino whistled. "Nice going, Sakura. He's only been in Konoha for a month and you've already got him wrapped around your little finger…"

"This is serious!" Karin yelled at Ino, who merely smirked.

"Eh? Teme is trying to seduce Sakura-chan!?" Naruto growled out. "He can't! Sakura-chan needs to find herself a gentlemen, not some idiot like him!"

"Who do you have in mind, Naruto?" Kakashi asked offhandedly.

"Neji's a much better choice." Naruto grumbled.

"Neji?" Ino pondered aloud. "I never really thought about it but it could work…"

"Hello!?" Karin started shaking Naruto's shoulders to keep him focused. "Let's think about the task at hand here! My Sasuke-kun is in the same room as her!"

"Your point is?" Suigetsu asked.

"She could be taking advantage of him or something!"

"So Sasuke would be the uke?" Sai asked aloud.

"Let's go down there and listen to what's going on." Naruto grinned maliciously, ignoring Karin's attempts to strangle Sai.

"Alright." Ino nodded enthusiastically. "This ought to be good."

The others followed as Ino and Naruto silently landed on Sakura's doorstep. They pressed their ears to the door, Karin and Suigestu not far behind them. Kakashi and Sai stood, watching the other four as they all listened in:

"Ow!"

"What?"

"It's bleeding again. You'd think that after the first time I would get used to this."

"You've been hurt worse before, why are you complaining?"

"Well yeah, but look how _big_ this thing is."

"Just suck on it."

"I knew that, Uchiha. I am, after all, the more experienced one here, remember?"

"Hn."

"What?"

"I still don't see why I had to take them off."

"Usually you have to take your pants off for this kind of thing."

"You could have done it with my pants on."

"Do you _have_ to be so difficult?"

The door was slammed open with about as much force as one of Tsunade's punches. It splintered, and Naruto and the others ran inside.

"What the hell are you two doing—" Naruto stopped talking, staring down at the scene in front of him. The others had skidded to a halt behind him.

Sasuke was sitting on Sakura's couch, dressed in his shirt and boxers. Sakura was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of him, holding his pants in her hands, sucking on her index finger while holding a large sewing needle in the other hand.

Both she and Sasuke were looking at the group with small smirks, obviously realizing that the others had been listening in.

"But…you said…" Karin gasped, staring from one to the other.

Sasuke gave a small sigh. "Finished?"

Sakura nodded, handing him back his pants. "There you go." He slipped them on, tying his belt before he looked back at the others. At this point Suigetsu was practically rolling on the ground with laughter. Kakashi was smiling behind his mask, Ino was giggling softly into her hands, and Sai merely looked confused. Naruto and Karin were still staring at everything in a state of disbelief.

Sasuke looked back at Sakura. "You were right, Sakura. They really are perverted."

* * *

**(A/N: Sorry for the lateness of the chapter. I've been a little busy lately. And yes, I know that Sakura seems to be all cheerful and stuff in this chapter, but it's only because she knows that she has to act that way to get them to trust her. Make sense:P Anyway, that's about it. The next chapter…the Chûnin Exam just might actually begin! Lol. **

**Until then, see ya!**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	17. Chapter 16: Deception

**Chapter 16**

**Deception**

Sakura watched them walk down the street and into the night from her doorway, gaze cold and emotionless once more. She held her scroll from Tsunade in her hands, running her thumb along the edge. She had read it earlier. It was a summons from Tsunade to meet with her and the other Jônin senseis for information about the Exam. Kakashi would be gone on a mission with Sai and Naruto for the first part of the Exam, so he would need to be briefed later on.

She looked up one last time to watch Sasuke. His back was stiff and he was blatantly ignoring Karin and Suigetsu. Suigetsu didn't seem to care, but Karin was looking angered and a little hurt as she tried to get Sasuke to speak. He merely ignored them, heading in the opposite direction—the direction of the Uchiha compound.

_He's an emotionless bastard, Karin. You should just stop before he hurts you even more_. Sakura knew all about how hurtful Sasuke could be after all.

Naruto had tried taunting him with the fact that he was going on a mission and Sasuke wasn't even allowed out of Konoha but Sasuke hadn't taken the bait. He had remained emotionless, giving a small nod in Naruto, Kakashi, and Sai's direction before disappearing.

_So, he's finally decided to stop pretending_, Sakura thought as she looked at the splintered remains of her door. She gave a soft sigh as she began picking up the pieces. She had already told one of the Anbu guards—the ones who had been discreetly watching her and Sasuke for the past hour or so—to tell Tsunade she would be a few minutes late.

A sliver of wood pierced her skin, sticking there as she gave a small hiss at the jolt of pain. A small droplet of blood welled up on the tip of her finger as she pressed down, pushing the splinter out of the skin. She healed it quickly, without much of a thought at all.

No, her mind was stuck on other things…on the way Naruto had whined at Sasuke's sudden reversion to a cold stick-up-his-ass teme. She didn't see what the big deal was, why Naruto was so worried.

_That's who he really is, Naruto. Everything else is a lie. He holds no affection or love for anyone, no attachments. The only thing he truly feels is hate._

She supposed, however, that she was the only one who could see that. And that was why her mind continued to drift to the conversation that she and Sasuke had had before sensing the others' presence earlier that night.

_"Why are you acting like this, Sakura?" Sasuke's voice cut through the tense silence, not concerned, or even remotely curious. If anything, his tone bordered on the annoyed._

_She gave him a pointed stare, before she went back to her sewing. "Because I need to gain your trust and that of your teammates for a special mission you will be going on during the Chûnin Exams." There was no point in lying to him. He knew the truth anyway._

_"Hn."_

_"I hate you. That has been established. You hate me as well. We don't have to forget that. But your teammates will not trust me unless they believe that you do. So just pretend, alright? And I'll pretend I can stomach your oversized ego."_

_"Hn."_

_"Good." Sakura took that as his agreement. "After all." She looked up with a fake smile that reminded Sasuke of Sai, "The world runs on deception, ne?"_

_"Hn."_

_"And by the way…the I'm-still-the-same-brooding-ass-little-Sasuke-kun-I used-to-be-before-I-betrayed-everyone-act …it's getting old." Sakura commented softly. "So I would like it if you'd cut the shit, or at least pretend to. We both know you don't really care about Naruto or the others, or even whether Konoha views you as a traitor or not. You have your own reasons for pretending to be loyal to Konoha. I don't buy it, so don't expect me to, got it?"_

_Sasuke's eyes flickered crimson at Sakura's tone, before he gave a small smirk, voice mocking as he spoke, "That is a very cruel assumption, Sakura. I'm hurt."_

_"Che." Sakura gave a small snarl. And they fell into silence…because both of them were trying to remember where the pretending ended and the real feelings began. Years of building up emotionless walls had made it almost impossible to discern between them._

_And so Sakura wondered if she actually really hated Sasuke._

_And Sasuke wondered if he actually really wanted to leave._

_And they said nothing, because after all…the world runs on deception._

_And when it comes to deception, they were the best._

Sakura slipped on her Jônin vest over her shirt, tying her sandals hurriedly before she left, placing a genjutsu on her home to make it look like she still had a door. She'd have to get the fixed. She placed that information in the back of her mind before she hurried to the Hokage's office.

There were more important matters at hand.

* * *

Surprisingly enough, Sakura wasn't the last sensei to arrive. Kurenai, Gai, and several others were already seated in the Hokage's office when she entered, as well as Jiraiya and Shizune, who were not even senseis. They looked up, some nodding their heads in greeting before going back to their conversations.

Sakura sat herself down in the seat beside Kurenai, who smiled at her in return.

"I heard about your Genin team." She gave a small laugh as Sakura's mouth twitched into a small frown. "I can't say I envy you."

"It is a very youthful endeavor!" Gai jumped up from his seat on Sakura's right. "To be able to instill inspiration into the hearts of those your own age! Ah, if only I had been able to do the same with Kakashi!"

Sakura raised an eyebrow, while Kurenai gave Gai a worried look, as if she wasn't sure what to say.

That was when Asuma walked in, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that. My team was being a little…troublesome."

"Troublesome?" Kurenai echoed as he sat down beside her. "I thought that students were supposed to develop their teacher's habits, not the other way around."

"Now that we are all here." Tsunade stood, looking over at the assembled senseis as well as the few council members, Shizune, and Jiraiya. "I would like to begin."

There was a collective nod from all the Jônin present.

"As you know, the Chûnin Exam is once again being held in Konoha. However, the Exam is going to be a bit different this time."

The others waited, saying nothing. It was always best not to interrupt Tsunade when she was speaking, even if they were all a bit curious as to where this was going. Tsunade had already assigned Sakura a mission that her team would be doing during the Exam, but other than that she didn't know anything more than the others did.

"Well, we do not want a repeat of the last time we held the Exams. The Kazekage, Gaara-dono, will be coming."

"I hear Kankuro has his own Genin team." Asuma commented lightly.

Tsunade nodded. "Hai. Our allies from the Grass Village, Waterfall Village, as well as the Star Village are coming. Also…a few mist shinobi."

"Mist?" Kurenai asked in surprise. "Here?"

"It seems that the Mizukage would like to make amends. So he is coming here with some promising Genin teams." Tsunade nodded. "And we have one more Village. Cloud. The Raikage is also coming, as well as the new Hoshigake."

"Cloud?" One of the other senseis grumbled. "This is getting ridiculous."

"This will be the biggest Chûnin Exam in history. And with the largest get together of Kages as well." Tsunade spoke. "That means security is our top priority. This could be a trap to gain information about our village from Cloud or Mist."

"I wouldn't put it past them." Jiraiya commented dryly.

Tsunade nodded. "I am making groups of capable Jônin for a special op team during this Exam. All of you will be assigned into squads of three Jônin-level shinobi."

"What about our teams?" Kurenai asked, brow furrowed a bit in worry. "We will need to watch out for them, won't we?"

Tsunade nodded. "The fact that all of you are senseis is one of the main reasons I am sending some of you. You will be less conspicuous. Iwashi, Raido, and Ibiki are in charge of the Exam this year."

The Jonin had already known who the proctors of the exam were a month or so before.

"And of course, Genma, Anko, and Shizune will be on the special Jônin op squad…as will Kakashi." Tsunade supplied.

Sakura nodded her head slowly. She'd have to get this information to Kakashi later.

"During the first part of the Exam, it won't be that much of a problem for the senseis to be with everyone else." Tsunade motioned to them. "But if I have all of you patrolling the Training Forest set aside for the Second Exam, it will look fishy. People will think you are helping your teams to cheat."

Sakura nodded. That made sense.

"So, during the second exam, Genma, Shizune, Ibiki, Anko, and Raido will be patrolling the forest."

The group of Jônin gave a collective nod. Sakura's mouth tightened a bit, realizing that Tsunade was not going to make known to the others the mission she was sending her and her team on at the same time.

"I know how you will all want to see your teams fight during the third Exam, but you might be somewhere else." Tsunade pointed out, and Sakura almost gave a derisive snort. She really didn't care, since it was almost a given that her team would succeed.

Tsunade gave a soft sigh, leaning back in her chair. "I have a very special mission for Shizune, Jiraiya, and Kakashi during the third part of the Exam. You will be special envoys for me…diplomats to the other Kages. I want you to watch them and I want you to warn me the moment anything goes awry. I am assigning the other Jônin into pairs for the various parts. However, I may change your positions if I feel you're your presence is needed elsewhere."

Jiraiya and Shizune nodded, and Sakura made another mental note to tell Kakashi this.

"I will be assigning teams soon. Along with your teams you will be assigned certain missions. I have grouped you for your effectiveness in battle with one another." She laced her fingers together, propping her chin on them and staring at the group.

"Each of your teams will be given a code name, as well as a file on a certain shinobi from one of the visiting villages."

"Are we to watch the person that we are assigned?" A sensei asked.

Tsunade nodded. "Hai. These shinobi were deemed as possible threats by the council and myself. Also…they are known in their own villages as powerful shinobi. Because of this I want you to analyze them, to find out any possible weaknesses about them that you can."

"Hai." Came the reply.

"The Kazekage is going to be working hand-in-hand with us. His Anbu will work with ours to patrol the area and several of his Jônin will be interspersed with your groups. Understood?"

A nod.

"Good." Tsunade finished briskly. "Because I will not allow a repeat of the last Konoha Chûnin Exams." She shuffled the files on her desk. "Now, when I call the names of your squads come forward. Each squad will have one sensei and two other Jônin so that there will be someone accessible to all locations at all times."

"Tell me Hokage-sama…" Kurenai began softly, and everyone in the room turned to look at her, including Tsunade.

"Is all of this because you believe that another attack on Konoha is very probable?"

"It is not only that, but yes." Tsunade nodded, suddenly looking years older than her anti-aging jutsu usually allowed.

"What is your other concern, Hokage-sama?" Another sensei asked.

Tsunade's eyes flashed darkly, her mouth pressed into a fine line or irritation. Jiraiya stepped forward from his place against the wall, answering for her.

"There is a very good chance that the Akatsuki are in the area and will use the chaos of the Chûnin Exam as a way to capture Uzumaki Naruto to extract his Kyuubi."

* * *

Sakura rubbed her damp hair with her towel as she walked around her living room. Yamato had already come over and fixed her front door. A bowl of steaming ramen broth sat at the table, the only other indication that he had even entered her home.

She sat down on her couch, wearing only a towel. Sitting on the small coffee table in front of her was a file containing the target of her group. Her group consisted of Anko, Ibiki, and herself. _That was an obvious choice_, she thought acerbically.

The three of them hadn't been dubbed the 'terror trio' by Genma for nothing.

Her squad's code name was Lotus. They were the quick hunter-nin and interrogation squad. They would be the ones who would identify any threats and question them, eliminating them if necessary. Because of their need to keep the enemy alive when taking them into custody instead of in body bags, their job was a little more difficult than the assassination and defense squads' assignments.

Sakura took a sip of her tea, flipping open the file. The first thing she saw was a picture held to the top right corner of the manila folder with a paperclip. She blinked, staring at the picture for a few minutes in mute shock.

Just looking at the picture brought up memories of Sakura's last mission before her first Chunin Exam. _Just like Haku…_ She was older than Haku—older than Sakura definitely, at least Kakashi's age—but her features were much the same. She had doe-eyes the color of dark chocolate and charcoal-black hair tied back in a loose braid, with long bangs framing her face.

Sakura looked down at the information below the photo.

_Name: Kuroki Shinju_

_Village: Kirigakure_

_Status: Jônin sensei_

_Kekkei Genkai: None_

_Level: a-class_

At this Sakura's brow furrowed. The woman seemed extremely dangerous already and Sakura had only just begun reading. At least she didn't have a kekkei genkai. Sakura shivered involuntarily. She didn't want to know what an a-class shinobi could have done with Haku's kekkei genkai.

_So she has a genin team_, Sakura thought with a dark, knowing look. _At least she'll be out in the open and I won't have to go searching for her._

She scanned the next few lines down and paled considerably, mouth hanging open a bit.

_Oh shit._

* * *

Karin gave an annoyed grumble as she sat down on an abandoned tree-stump that Suigetsu had just created with his sword. Sasuke was sitting on one a few feet away, eyes closed as he meditated.

_At least he's back to normal_, Karin thought with a small smile, remembering the way he had joked with his teammates, acting like a completely different person than the cold leader she had known. _Now if only Sakura would get here! Damn her, she's late!_

"Good morning." Sakura's monotone echoed in the small clearing. At the sound of her voice several birds flew from their roosts in the remaining trees.

"Hey." Suigetsu greeted with a grin, swinging his sword once again and cleaving another tree in half.

"Hmph." Karin muttered, crossing her arms over her chest and looking the other way.

Sasuke said nothing.

"I am sorry I was late. Juugo's…technique…activated and I was needed to calm him." Sakura continued to explain as she sat herself down on the dew-covered grass.

"Did he hurt anyone?" Suigetsu asked curiously.

Sakura shook her head. "No. It was most unexpected. He fought the transformation very well, I am impressed with his progress. Shizune-san was not harmed." Shizune had taken over Juugo's preliminary medical check-ups, leaving Sakura to do the psychological treatment.

"What's that on your arm?" Karin asked finally, pointing to the bandage peeking out from Sakura's sleeve. Sakura looked down at her right arm and shrugged.

"Before Juugo-san recognized me he bit me."

"He _bit _you?" Karin gasped, disgust lacing her voice.

Sakura nodded slowly. "As soon as he was close enough to recognize my scent and I spoke he calmed down. He was very ashamed of himself for his actions." They saw her gaze sadden a bit. "…he was very afraid."

"Of what?" Karin's brow furrowed.

"Of getting executed." Suigetsu guessed. "If he makes one wrong move he's going to die, isn't he? He'll be too much of a threat."

"Shizune-san and I decided that no one has to know of the damage." Sakura answered back. "That will be best for everyone, I think."

There was a moment of silence as Karin and Suigetsu stared at her like she'd grown a second head. Sasuke finally opened his eyes to watch her, his gaze curious.

"Why would you do that?" Karin finally blurted out. "He's an enemy isn't he? Why do you care?"  
"He is not my enemy."

"But he's a monster isn't he?" Suigetsu whispered, gaze half-lidded as he watched Sakura's face for any sign as to what she was thinking. "Isn't that how anyone would look at it? That he's a dangerous freak that needs to be put down? Like a _rabid dog_." The bitterness in his tone told made them all realize that Suigetsu felt much the same way…as if he felt like an unwanted mutt that people just wanted to get rid of.

Sakura stiffened, and her eyes darkened from a soft jade to hardened emerald. "You seem to forget, Suigetsu, that my best friend holds the nine-tailed fox. I am no stranger to _monsters_. I converse with them on a regular basis. It was not Juugo-san's fault that he transformed. Shizune was trying to probe his mind as I have often done and she hit a wrong nerve. He is not used to others seeing his innermost thoughts and he panicked. It was a defense mechanism."

"What makes you think he won't do it again?"

Sakura and the others turned at the sound of Sasuke's voice.

"I don't know." Sakura answered back truthfully. "All I know…is that he does not deserve this. He will get better, I have seen his improvement already. He will finally have the peace he deserves."

"So you can calm him?" Karin finally interrupted, not liking the tense silence that hung in the air between the Haruno and the Uchiha, or Suigetsu's pained nostalgia. "I mean, the only others who could do that were Kimimaro and Sasuke-kun."

Sakura nodded. "So Juugo-san has told me."

"Why do you think that is?" Karin pondered aloud, not really asking anyone in particular. "I mean, Kimimaro and Sasuke-kun have this extreme power which makes it easy to see why Juugo would listen to them. But you…" She eyed Sakura up and down. "You aren't really anything special." _Take that_. Because whether Sakura acknowledged it or not…they were indeed rivals.

"They're more alike than you think Karin." Suigetsu cut in, finally placing his sword down on the ground; lazily sitting with his legs sprawled out in front of him.

"Eh?" Karin looked confused, while Suigetsu merely smirked, his earlier dark mood gone.

"Sakura and Sasuke."

"What do you mean!?" Karin shrieked, while Sakura and Sasuke both turned to Suigetsu. His gaze was serious, his ever-cocky smirk gone from his face. His moods seem to be changing dramatically lately.

"We are nothing alike." Sakura answered back casually, but there was a cold harshness to her voice that told them not to continue on the subject. She stood slowly as the others looked at her, brushing a few blades of grass from her pants. "Now, we must continue with our last mission before I brief you on our assignment for the Chûnin Exams—"

"You're wrong."

She turned to Sasuke, eyes narrowed at his answer. "Excuse me?"

He said nothing, but Suigetsu answered, "You are a lot alike."

"No, we are not." Sakura bit out, eyes dark. "There are more differences between us than you could possibly understand."

"And what are they?" Sasuke finally asked smoothly, his gaze almost mocking, as if daring her to speak. _We are alike, Sakura. We are killers. Tainted shadows. Tell me, what difference is there between us?_

"I have never betrayed my village, for one." Sakura hissed, and they could see anger seeping through her usual emotionless façade. "I'm not an egotistical pig who thinks that the world is out to get him and he's the only thing that matters—that he's the only one who has ever suffered pain and loss and it's somehow his god-given duty to gain revenge."

Sasuke stiffened and Karin lunged forward, ready to attack, face twisted in fury—but Suigetsu stopped her, shaking his head as he waited for Sasuke's response. He was oddly quiet, merely watching Sakura with dark eyes smoldering with suppressed anger.

Sakura's gaze was hidden behind her bangs. "But do you want to know the biggest difference between us Sasuke?" She asked coldly.

He said nothing, and for once both Suigetsu and Karin remained silent, unsure of where this conversation was going.

"People pity both of us, they walk by and shake their heads and say, "oh that's just too bad, look how they've suffered all these years" but I don't let it sink in. I don't take their pity because I don't need it. I know what I'm doing is right. But you love it. You _wallow _in that pity and you let it control you. You think that what you're doing is for revenge but actually…I think you do it because their pity bothers you so much you want it to stop. You're tired of people patting your head and telling you that everything will be ok because they know jack-shit about you and it pisses you off." She gave a harsh laugh.

"But if you give in, if you let it bother you…than you're a bigger coward then I thought. It takes a strong person to forget…but it takes strength to remember." And with that she walked past him, giving one last look back at the rest of her team. "You will head to the academy building tomorrow at five."

"But the exam doesn't start till—" Karin began angrily, but was cut off by Sakura's glare.

"You will be briefed on your side mission that you will be conducting during the second and third parts of the Exam at that time." Sakura's answer was clipped and short, and Sasuke watched her leave, gaze hidden beneath his hair.

No one said anything more as Sakura disappeared, Sasuke leaving shortly after.

"I guess we aren't going to have one last mission then." Suigetsu mumbled before he began walking back to his quarters.

"Hey—wait!" Karin yelled, running after him. "Don't leave me here!"

* * *

On the day of the Exams, Sakura walked slowly to the Academy building. The sky was still dark, with a ribbon of crimson streaking through the sky just above the tree line. She saw three shadows standing near the old swing in front of the Academy and gave a soft sigh.

She had once again snapped at Sasuke. It seemed as if no matter how hard she tried to remain emotionless she continued to lose her temper around him. She wouldn't ask for forgiveness this time, however. Instead, she walked up to the three members of her team.

Sasuke and Suigetsu were standing, while Karin rocked back and forth slowly on the swing, staring down at the ground.

"There you are!" Karin grumbled as she saw her. "We've been here for twenty minutes."

"I'm on time." Sakura shrugged. "It's not my fault you were early."

Karin opened her mouth to snap back but Sakura stopped her, unraveling a scroll and reading.

"_'Team 13,_

_You have been assigned a mission for the second part of the Exam. While the other teams are heading through the Forest of Death you will meet up with your sensei at the designated meeting spot on the map. There, you will continue onward through the forest to gain information on the Mist-nin and Cloud-nin teams. Use any means necessary. If you encounter higher-level shinobi who are not designated in the area and are hostile, you are to either eliminate them or bring them back to Konoha for questioning._

_Godaime Hokage Tsunade'_." Sakura rolled the scroll back up, placing it in her sleeve. "I will meet you at the designated spot 2 hours into the Examination. I expect you to have gained the scroll you need to proceed to the Third part of the Exam by that time."

Suigetsu nodded, grinning. At least he would get to do something fun.

"How are you going to get to the designated spot?" Karin questioned, frowning. "I mean, you aren't going to be allowed into the forest and the other villages will have people watching the forest that morning, won't they? To make sure that the others villages don't cheat."

Sakura nodded. "I have my ways. Do not worry." She then pulled out another scroll. "This scroll has the location of our meeting spot. Once you have read it dispose of it properly. If anyone learns of this mission it will not go over well with the other villages."

Karin and Suigetsu nodded the affirmative. Sasuke said nothing. In fact, he had yet to acknowledge Sakura's presence. He seemed to still be a bit angry with Sakura over her words from the day before but Sakura brushed it off. _I do not care what he thinks. _

Sakura gave a soft smile at Suigetsu and Karin, "It seems redundant to wish you good luck but…" She sighed, "Good luck anyway."

Karin gave a small grunt, trying not to smile back while Suigetsu grinned and winked. Once again, Sasuke remained silent.

"I'll be at the hospital for the next two hours with Juugo-san. If something happens…you can contact me there."

Another collective nod.

"Dismissed."

* * *

Sakura walked down the street from the hospital with another sigh, turning towards the Academy. Juugo had seemed particularly worried when she had come in that morning. Perhaps it was because of his earlier attack. He had indeed been remorseful and afraid after that.

He had also asked her if, were anything to happen, would he be needed to help or would they just view him as a threat? Sakura had explained that it would probably be better if he stayed in the hospital unless he felt as if it were absolutely necessary to leave, were anything to happen. Then he would need to locate Sakura or Sasuke as soon as possible to help in case he transformed.

But she had assured him that nothing was going to happen and if something did it would be taken care of quickly.

He hadn't seemed convinced, but he had said nothing more on the matter, merely apologized once again for attacking her the day before.

She continued to brush it off. He was getting better; there was nothing to worry about. It was completely understandable for anyone who had lived with Orochimaru for so long to have lasting emotional and psychological damage.

She heard the sound of children talking excitedly and looked up as she neared the Academy to see a small group of Genin teams enter the building hesitantly. Their senseis followed them inside until they would reach the area where the senseis and their students would separate for the Exam.

She walked inside; tucking a few locks of her hair behind her ear as she brushed passed a group of Genin. Some of them seemed to recognize her, no doubt from photos of her with the Hokage as the Hokage's apprentice. She had also been a bit of a diplomat for Tsunade when she had first begun training under her, so she was well-known for that as well.

She felt the calculatingly cold gazes of the Jonin in the hallway as well, but ignored it easily as she walked up a flight of stairs. It seemed as if, like the year that Sakura herself had taken it, there was a genjutsu on the floor so that the Genin couldn't tell that they needed to go up a floor.

They must have thought she was a proctor, for none of the Genin paid her much attention as she walked past them. She reached the second floor only to find it deserted. She turned the corner in the darkened hallway, walking past a few rooms. As she did so she stiffened, seeing a tall shinobi standing with his back to Sakura at the end of the hallway. The person was talking with three young children. She guessed that it was his Genin team.

The team left, going into the room that was the designated meeting room for all the Genin.

"You aren't allowed to be up on this floor with them." Sakura finally spoke. As she did so, the shinobi turned and Sakura froze.

She was now standing face-to-face with her target, the mist-nin. The older woman smiled at Sakura, nodding her head in greeting.

"I am sorry, they were very nervous. I merely wanted to give them a few encouraging words." Her voice was low and sweet with a calming air to it. It reminded Sakura so much of Haku that it hurt. This woman could have very well been Haku's mother, or his aunt. Perhaps an older sister? Sakura had gone through a million scenarios the night before. If she was related to Haku, had she come for revenge? Sakura made sure that her thoughts were hidden behind her emotionless mask as she spoke.

"Of course." Sakura nodded, leaning against the wall. The older woman walked over to her, extending her hand.

"My name is Kuroki Shinju."

"Haruno Sakura." Sakura shook the hand presented to her before she dropped it. Shinju smiled at her once more.

"It is a pleasure to meet you. You are the Godaime Hokage's apprentice, are you not?"

"Hai."

Shinju laughed softly. "I expected someone with your hair color to have a more cheerful personality." Her voice was teasing, like an older sister.

Sakura smiled patiently, nodding. "Many other people say the same thing."

"Well, I am afraid I need to meet with a few of my associates. It was a pleasure talking with you, Haruno-san." Shinju nodded her head. "I hope we will have time to speak with one another again before the end of the Exams."

"I have no doubt of that, Kuroki-san." _I am watching you._

And something flashed in Shinju's eyes, a hidden secret that chilled her to the bone. "Indeed, Haruno-san. There is no doubt we will meet with one another again, is there?"

The air between them seemed to drop ten degrees as their eyes locked.

Then the moment of animosity ended and they gave each other bright, cheerful smiles before Shinju walked back down the hallway and Sakura watched her go. The look they had shared made Sakura believe that no matter what happened, whether Mist was truly their enemy now or not…she and Shinju would fight.

And one of them would die.

It was a morbid and depressing thought, but a realistic one at the very least.

And that realization saddened her, because a part of her didn't want it to happen. But another part, a small, sick, dark, and twisted part of her hungered for it. For a battle that would push her to her limits. To prove her worth against on of _them_ of all people. Her hand clenched tightly, before loosening as her fingers brushed against the cloth of her pants. Perhaps she had merely delved too deeply into Shinju's words. That must have been it. There would be no battle. Neither of them would die.

She had been taught to expect the worse of people and it was making her paranoid...she just needed to relax and recenter her thoughts.

She watched Shinju's back as she slowly disappeared down the hallway. There was a swish of cloth before Ibiki rounded the corner the woman had disappeared around, his gaze stern. He nodded at Sakura in greeting.

Sakura nodded back.

"I have three shinobi I need you to interrogate at the compound." He spoke, although no sound came from his voice. But he had taught Sakura how to read lips easily, and so she merely nodded her head in recognition to his 'words'. His back was to the window, facing only her and the wall so that she was the only one who could hear him.

"Two of them are just routine, no violence involved, just questioning. The last one…you'll need to be severe with him." The way he said it made Sakura give a soft sigh. Being _severe _meant she was going to come home that night with blood on her hands and screams echoing in her head.

"Very well." Sakura mouthed back, seeing that Ibiki had taken a position in front of her at the perfect angle, making it impossible for anyone to read her lips either. "I need to look at some files, too. You and Anko are my partners for the Exam. I'll brief you when you get to the compound tonight."

Ibiki nodded with a small smile, which was more of a twitch of his scar-ridden lips before he turned towards the door, opening it and walking inside. Sakura stood in the hallway for a few moments, letting the silence sink in before she disappeared in a rush of leaves.

* * *

"So…this is a Chûnin exam?" Karin asked, frowning. "No wonder Orochimaru didn't think it was important enough for us to go to one. This looks pointless. Look at all of them." She motioned to the Genin teams crowding around the doorway.

"They look scared shitless." Suigetsu remarked with a grin. "But man…this is going to be boring." They had arrived at the top of the second floor only to find two Chunin standing in their way. His grin turned into a pout. "What's the point in taking this if we already know we can kick all of their asses?"

Sasuke said nothing, not like they had expected him to say anything anyway. Unlike the Konoha-nin they were used to Sasuke's cold silence. They had grown up around it, only seeing the 'old Sasuke' when they had entered Konoha. To them he was just reverting back to his old ways.

The Chûnin standing at the door looked up as Sasuke and the other two neared. They immediately paled, swallowing a bit as they tried to stand straighter. The other genin teams noticed this--as well as the newcomers.

"Is that the Uchiha?" One whispered to his teammates. "I heard he was going to be taking the Exam this year."

"Man, Konoha must be really desperate to let a traitor take the Exams."

More whispers ensued as the other Genin teams quickly made a path to the door for the three. Suigetsu smirked, Karin pushed her glasses further up her nose with a smile, and Sasuke did nothing, merely walked forward.

As they reached the two Chûnin they opened the door quickly. "Go ahead." They nodded, shooting each other furtive glances as the three entered the room.

"Now here we go." Suigetsu grinned. "These guys don't look like pushovers." The three of them scanned the room full of Genin calculatingly. Karin searched their chakra levels, snorting as she realized that only a handful were even close to their level.

Sasuke walked over to the wall, sitting down in a meditative position with his back against it. Karin sat down beside him with a smile, tucking her legs demurely behind her while Suigetsu leaned against the wall, still standing.

"So." Came a snide remark from their left. "You're the one with Momochi's sword, eh?"

All three members of team thirteen turned to look at the speaker. It was a young man around their age with spiky brown hair that seemed to defy gravity and armor surrounding his right shoulder. His eyes were a deep green with a circle of gold in the middle surrounding the pupil. A headband hung on his belt loosely.

He was from Mist.

Another boy walked up behind him. This one had long green-black hair tied back in a braid and light purple eyes. He looked delicate, almost feminine. His aura was calm compared to his teammate, who looked excited and cocky. A white snow owl was perched on his shoulder. It cocked its head to the side, peering at them with wise, grey eyes.

Suigetsu turned to the brunette with his own feral grin. "Yeah, I have Momochi's sword. What's it to you?"

"Are you sure you're fit to carry it? You aren't one of the seven swordsmen." The brunette's eyes flickered with disgust. "You aren't even _worthy_ enough to be from Mist. What kind of Mist-nin hangs around with a bunch of worthless Konoha shinobi?"

At this every other Genin team in the room seemed to tune in on their conversation.

"What's that?" Karin bristled, standing up hurriedly and stepping forward. "Do you even know who we are? If you did you wouldn't be so cocky, you bastard."

The brunette raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? From what my sensei told us of your abilities I'm not worried. Especially not about _your _skills, bitch."

"WHAT'S THAT!?" Karin shrieked, lunging forward, held back only by Suigetsu's outstretched arm.

"Calm yourself Juro." His male teammate murmured. Even his voice sounded a bit feminine, and Sasuke was reminded faintly of Haku. "You seem to forget that they have the Uchiha with them." His eyes flickered to Sasuke, and Sasuke saw a bit of hatred come through his calm façade. "They are worthy opponents."

"Worthy?" Juro snorted. "They don't stand a chance. Just you wait…we'll have our fun soon you damn Konoha--"

"That's enough Keiichi, Juro." Came a soft, yet cold voice from the back of the room. Everyone in the room turned to look at the one who had spoken. It was a figure slumped against the wall lazily, a kasa pulled down to hide their face.

"B-but Yasu." Juro began, looking almost afraid as he swallowed. "This is the Uchiha! And that Suigetsu guy--he has Momochi's sword!"

"The exam hasn't started." Came Yasu's cold voice once more: a warning. As the kunoichi shifted, a bell on her kasa gave a soft chime and Sasuke tensed involuntarily at the eerily familiar sound. The hat looked exactly like the ones the Akatsuki wore.

"Yasu is right, Juro." Keiichi looked to Sasuke and his companions. "We'll kill them later, now is not an opportune moment." His eyes flickered to the proctor--Ibiki, who had just entered the room.

Juro looked as if he was going to argue before he nodded and he and Keiichi seemed to disappear before they landed beside their teammate. Yasu stood slowly as Ibiki looked the group over, eyes narrowed to mere slits.

"Don't worry Sasuke-kun." Karin began confidently, "That Yasu person, her chakra isn't that high at all. She's average, around Chûnin level. Nothing to worry about. Her teammates seem to have more chakra and strength than she does."

"And that's why we have to look out for her." Sasuke commented darkly. "They're afraid of her. Why would they be, if she was really so weak?"  
Suigetsu nodded, while Karin looked a bit insulted and blushed at her error.

Sasuke continued to watch Yasu, even as Ibiki began explaining the first part of the exam.

_She got that kasa from an Akatsuki member…I'm sure of it._

His gave a small, dark smile. By defeating someone with such strength…_I will be one step closer to killing Itachi._

* * *

**(A\N: So? Sorry this chapter took so long, I hope this makes up for the wait. :)**** I know this chapter had a lot of Sakura's thoughts and stuff but that's because most of the next chapter deals with Sasuke, Karin, and Suigetsu and so it'll be pretty Sasuke-centered, with a little bit of Sakura. ****So, there's the explanation.**

**And yes, the Mist-nin are important to the storyline. Sasuke's team is going to soon realize that they are more powerful than they appear.**

**Until next time, see ya!**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	18. Chapter 17: Nightmares

**(A\N: Well, here we are! The Exam begins! I hope you all enjoy.)**

* * *

**Chapter 17**

**Nightmares**

Karin, Sasuke, and Suigetsu followed Ibiki and the other Genin down the hall and into the exam room. Proctors lined the wall, and the Genin shuffled nervously as they looked them all over. Sasuke merely gave them all indifferent glance--until he reached a grinning blonde.

"HA! Bet you didn't think I'd be here, eh teme?"

Sasuke blinked at his old friend who was leaning against the wall, decked out in his Chunin vest.

"Why are you here? You're only a Chunin?" Karin scoffed, sneering.

Naruto opened his mouth to retaliate but was stopped as a hand was placed on his shoulder and a shrill voice answered, "He's a special Jonin dumbass. He was _assigned_ here to make sure you three didn't try anything stupid."

Karin bristled as she glared at the pale blonde Chunin standing next to Naruto. What was the bitch's name again? Ino, yeah, that was it. She was currently Karin's most disliked kunoichi in all of Konoha.

Suigetsu snickered behind the now irate Karin.

"I…oooooo just you wait!" Karin growled before she hurriedly took the seat she was assigned. Sasuke had already taken his seat in the back of the room and Suigetsu slumped down into his own.

Naruto leaned back against the wall, still grumbling something about 'mean, evil red-heads'. Ino giggled, while Choji merely sighed and munched another handfull of potato chips.

The three of them had been assigned to be proctors during the first exam. They were to watch the genin and dock them points when they saw them cheating. It was an ironic run-around to their first Chunin exam. Ino and Choji, being Chunin, were there just for this purpose.

Naruto, on the other hand, had been asked to do something else. He was to watch a certain group of Genin that the Hokage was apprehensive about. He looked down at the files in his hands with a sigh. He _hated _just sitting around and watching people. It was no fun at all! Why couldn't he have been an assistant proctor for the third exam? Then he could have jumped in to stop a fight and had some fun along the way.

Something larger than just a Chunin exam was taking place here, and Naruto wanted to know what it was. He had already identified several proctors in the room that were _not_ Chunin at all. They were _at least _Jonin. And Ibiki was keeping his eyes on three members in particular--they were from Mist--while he continued to tell the group of nervous Genin the instructions for this part of the Exam.

Naruto tuned him out with another frustrated sigh, looking back at the few shinobi he'd been assigned to watch. From the files he had read on them they didn't seem too dangerous. Actually, they seemed pretty harmless. But their sensei was the one that the Hokage had been apprehensive about, apparently. A Cloud-nin who was closely associated with the Raikage. Apparently Tsunade was worried that his team was there as a decoy to distract them while the Cloud-nin gained information on Konoha and sent it to his kage.

It was Naruto's job to see if this was true. That way, they wouldn't be wasting a Jonin if the team were truly just there to distract him. _Darn it. Two more missions and then I can take the Jonin Exam…_he grumbled to himself silently. _Then I'll have enough of these stupid low missions. I'm a special Jonin for heaven's sake!_

He grinned to himself. _After Sasuke takes the Chunin exam and passes…we can take the Jonin Exam together! Me, Sasuke, and Sakura-chan, since Tsunade said that she wanted Sakura to take the Exam again…something about a mess-up in the exam that the Council are bitching about._ Something bubbled brightly inside of him at the thought. They'd be team seven again. It would be like the Chunin Exams…except this time there would be no Orochimaru. It would be perfect.

_I guess Sai will have to take it too…_

That sucked.

The last thing he needed was _two_ emotionless bastards on his team.

_Too bad Hinata-chan doesn't want to take the Jonin Exam. She's happy as an academy teacher…_he frowned. But then again, when he thought about it, she didn't seem to fit into any other grouping. He wouldn't see her as Anbu, or Jonin.

_Maybe a sensei? I bet Hinata-chan would make a _great_ sensei!_ he grinned to himself.

"Hey Naruto, will you get your head out of the clouds and pay attention?" Ino hissed in his ear and he almost jumped, before grinning sheepishly and nodding, looking back at his three targets.

"You're so stupid sometimes." Ino muttered, and Naruto snickered at the way she sighed in exasperation. It was just like the way Sakura would sigh after he did something stupid.

The room settled into silence, save for the scratching of pencils on paper, and Naruto leaned back in his chair to watch through half-lidded eyes.

It was going to be a long Exam.

* * *

Sasuke scoffed silently at the simple answers on the sheet of paper. Karin had let out a happy squeal when she'd first read the questions and had hurriedly finished the Exam in the first three minutes. Sasuke merely leaned back in his chair. There was no point in answering the questions in the first place, they didn't matter. 

Suigetsu was taking a nap, whether it because he was thinking on the same lines as Sasuke or because he just didn't care, Sasuke didn't know, nor did he care.

His mind drifted to other things, like the infuriating female of team seven.

_She really hates me._

He snorted. It's not like he cared anyway.

But…his tense shoulders slumped a bit. He had kind of been hoping that Sakura would revert back to her old fan girl self. It annoyed him, true, but it was something he _knew_. Something familiar that he could deal with.

Not this emotionless, hollow girl that--aggravatingly enough--could hold her own against him.

After her last comment to him, about how he wallowed in self pity, he'd gone home flustered and extremely angry. How dare she, a little girl who knew nothing of loss, tell him that he was weak. She hadn't said the word itself, but he knew that she had meant for him to read it between the lines.

And then he had dreamed that night.

He cursed himself silently, feeling foolish. That stupid dream. That _fucking annoying_ dream that had made him wake up with a small sheen of sweat and Sharingan-filled eyes.

He heard someone shuffle their papers as they turned their exam sheet over, but the outside sounds slowly disappeared as he was drawn back to that dream from the night before.

_"…Sasuke…"_

_Sasuke's eyes slowly opened. He felt soft blades of grass brushing gently against his skin, like a multitude of caressing fingers. The sky above him was a deep blue, with a few clouds drifting around lazily. He sat up, looking around in surprise._

_He was in the middle of a large meadow. Flowers in every color imaginable were all the eye could see, save for when they stopped at the edge of a large, crystalline lake. In the distance he spotted mountains, their peaks hidden by milky-white clouds. _

_The air was warm and the breeze that blew past him, ruffling his hair, was a cool reprieve. He watched the grass and flowers bend under the wind, making waves ripple across the meadow. He felt a strange sense of peace and contentment here. It almost made a smirk want to grace his lips, but he suppressed it. Where was he?_

_"Sasuke?" _

_He recognized the voice instantly. He turned to the speaker, and his breath momentarily caught in his throat in surprise. She looked so different…her bright emerald eyes sparkled cheerfully, and a glowing smile graced her face. She wore a flowing white summer dress and sandals, and a straw hat with a mint-colored ribbon tied around it. _

_She gave a soft laugh, as if she found his emotionless expression humorous. She placed her hands behind her back, leaning forward playfully. The breeze caught the long tendrils of her rosette hair, blowing them around her face as she spoke. _

_"What's wrong Sasuke? Don't you like this place? It's beautiful, ne?"__He said nothing._

_"I've never felt so free Sasuke!" She yelled, spreading her arms out and shouting up at the sky. "I wish I could stay here forever!"_

_"Hn." He finally grunted._

_She laughed, twirling around a few times. Then a large gust of wind ripped the hat from her head. She let out a cry of dismay before she raced after it, hands outstretched as she tried to grab the errant article. _

_"Sakura." Sasuke gave a soft sigh as he stood, going after her. She was going to trip in that dress of hers. The skirt kept wrapping around her legs as she ran through the grass. He felt something stir inside of him, a feeling of uneasiness as he ran after her. She continued chasing her hat, nearing the lake. _

_The wind suddenly died, and the hat drifted down to land on the water's surface. Sakura stopped at the edge of the lake, her gaze worried and thoughtful. Sasuke finally caught up to her, giving a soft sigh. _

_"It's far out, isn't it?" Sakura whispered. "I won't be able to reach it like this." She straightened, picking up her skirts. "I'll just have to go and get it then!"_

_"Don't Sakura." Sasuke murmured, catching her arm. He looked over to the other end of the lake, the side that seemed so far away…a dark fog was rolling over the water. It looked like smoke, and he could smell the ash and cinders that clung to the air._

_"I need my hat!" Sakura yelled. She smiled at him, slipping out of his grasp. "Don't worry Sasuke! I can just water-walk can't I?" She stepped onto the water's surface, running across it to her fallen hat._

_"Sakura!" His voice was firm and commanding as he looked from the black cloud that seemed to be getting nearer to their side of the lake, to Sakura's lithe, white-clad form as she danced about on the water, laughing as she finally reached her hat._

_She picked it up, shaking it as water droplets sprang from the brim. She looked back at Sasuke. "Come on! We can get to the village by walking over the water!" She pointed in the direction of the smoke. _

_"It's dangerous over there." Sasuke commented. "Come back."_

_She shook her head. "Come on Sasuke! We need to get back to the village!"_

_"It's dangerous, get back here." _

_Sakura giggled. "Catch me Sasuke!" Then she began running across the water._

_"Sakura!" There was a hint of desperation to his voice this time as he stepped onto the water himself, running after her. "Come back!" _Wouldn't you rather stay here anyway? It's peaceful in this field. There is no death or missions…why go back to the village when you could stay here?

With _me_.

_Suddenly Sakura stopped, as the ash cloud brushed against the hem of her skirt. She took a tentative step backwards. "Sasuke!" Her voice was filled with fear. "Sasuke! Everything is on fire!" _

_Sasuke stared as she turned to look at him, wreathed in a deep orange glow, hidden behind the smoke. He continued running towards her, urging himself to go faster._

_"SASUKE!" _

_He couldn't see her now, only smoke. He was engulfed in the smoke himself, cinders scorching his skin. He coughed, lungs burning. _

_She screamed, a loud piercing cry. "It's so hot! OH GOD! SASUKE!!!"__His chakra seemed to leave him and he fell through the water. He opened his mouth to yell her name, but water filled it. It tasted dirty and metallic, like rusting metal and blood. It had looked so beautiful…but now it was dark, and it churned above him as he tried to swim upwards. _

_He broke through the surface, gasping for breath as a large wave slammed into him, sending him back beneath the water and pushing him towards the shore. He tried to fight it, tried to swim back towards the place where Sakura had disappeared._

_The waves were relentless, pushing him farther and farther from the cloud of smoke and ash and flames. His back slammed into the shore and he gasped, choking. He spit up a mouthful of water, hands groping blindly in the soft sand. _

_The sky was dark now, as if night had fallen in a matter of seconds. The flowers were still there, still looking as beautiful and perfect as before as he looked around, searching for any sign of his pink-haired teammate. _

_"Sakura!" He finally yelled loudly. The sound echoed across the area, fading into silence. He breathed in a few ragged breaths as the water continued to lap at his legs. Something brushed against him and he looked down. With trembling hands he picked up the scorched and torn hat with the mint-colored ribbon. _

_"…Sakura…"_

"It's time for the tenth question." Came Ibiki's gruff voice, and Sasuke jerked his gaze upwards to the interrogation master. Ibiki was watching him curiously, and Sasuke wondered if his pain in his dream had shown on his face when he was thinking. But he merely watched Ibiki emotionlessly, causing the other man to look away and begin talking once more as the room of Genin hung onto his every word.

* * *

Sakura gave a small sigh as she walked into the interrogation center. The guards at the door nodded in recognition as she entered. The entire compound was soundproof, and yet Sakura could still hear the soft whisper of pained screams and pleas for mercy. 

She sighed. The moment she entered this doorway she locked her conscience away in the back of her mind. It would serve little purpose here.

"Hey Haruno." Anko grinned at the girl. She was walking down the hallway in the opposite direction, heading outside.

"Anko-san." Sakura nodded.

"I'm heading off for recon duty on our target." She tapped the little earpeice in her ear. "Don't forget to turn yours on. Our missions begins now."

Sakura nodded. "Ibiki is with the team."

"Hai." Anko nodded. They weren't using codenames at the moment, since the most secure place in all of Konoha was the interrogation compound. So many secrets passed through this place. People died here that no one even knew existed. Identities were erased, and minds shattered.

The halls of insanity. No one ever left this building unscathed.

"I'll see you around then, Haruno. I'm off to watch our dear Mist sensei." Anko waved before walking back towards the entrance.

Sakura went towards what the interrogators in the compound called a lounge. Of course, it only consisted of an empty room with a few couches, a coffee machine, a small kitchenette and a long wall full of shelves. Sakura walked over to the shelf that was hers and pulled out three files. They would be her cases for the day.

Two interrogators were seated at a table in the corner, sipping coffee. Someone had brought in some dango--probably not Anko, she wouldn't have shared it with anyone. They looked up at her before looking back down, and Sakura's eyes narrowed for a second as she let out a snort.

Being Ibiki's protégé had its downsides. Even the other interrogators found her a bit intimidating, just like they shirked away from Ibiki. It was because they didn't understand them. They couldn't guess their reasons or intentions.

They knew why Anko was an interrogator--she was addicted to pain after all. She was Orochimaru's old student. Everyone knew that she'd come out sick and twisted after such a thing.

But what about Sakura? What reason did she have for being so cruel and heartless?

Sakura merely sighed, walking back outside of the lounge and away from the inquisitive stares. She flipped the first file open. The tab on the corner was blue: an easy case. The only thing easier than blue was green: the willing spies from other countries that decided to spill info in exchange for protection.

Blues were easily manipulated, not a threat. They were usually simple suspects in crimes, or visiting shinobi and dignitaries that needed to be screened to see if they could perhaps be threats.

She slid open the door that held her first vitcim.

He was a middle-aged man with a peppered mustache and an impatient glare. He was figeting in his seat in annoyance. He wasn't tied up, which meant he wasn't a crime suspect. In fact, he was being held in relative comfort, with a cushioned chair and a glass of water on the table beside him. There was even a stack of books to keep him occupied.

She sat in the chair opposite him at the table, flipping through the file.

The silence stretched, and she heard him shifting in the seat.

"Well?" He finally growled.

Sakura looked up from her file. "Your name is Shirakawa Takuya, correct?"

"You can read my file, can't you?" The man asked gruffly.

Sakura sighed. "You are a visiting Daimyo from Mist…and what is your business here?"

The man grunted. "Well, the Chunin Exams _are_ being held here."

Sakura studied his face. "And you came to look for promising shinobi for missions then?"

"Yes." The man sounded exasperated. "I hope that there is a good reason for this! In fact, are all the Daimyo coming through here being treated like this? I'll have you know that I am very well known in Mist and have high connections with the Mizukage."

Sakura nodded slowly, "Your file states that you were known to have helped in smuggling supplies into Konohagakure for Orochimaru and his planned attack on my village. Would you care to explain?"

The man stiffened, face paling.

"I…"

"It's alright, take your time. I have all day." Sakura smiled cordially.

* * *

When Anko entered the interrogation base again, she was covered in scratches, but her grin was excited and pleased. She practically strutted down the hallway, giving maliciously pleasant smiles to the other interrogators she passed. 

She popped her head into the lounge. "Have any of you seen Haruno?"

The three shinobi inside glanced at one another. One of them finally spoke, a main branch Hyuga that had been harboring a crush on the pink-haired interrogator for at least a year now. "I do believe that Haruno-san is finishing up with her last target. The other two were released hours ago."

"What color?"

"The first was blue and the second one was purple." Another one of them piped in, a rookie that had begun a few months ago who hadn't seen much action yet, judging by his chipper attitude and eyes that sparkled innocently. "The last was an actual red! I hear she's been in there for at least half the day."

The Hyuga glared at the other man's attitude.

Anko grinned. "I see." She appeared behind the rookie. "Do you have any idea what a red tab means?"

"I-it means that the shinobi is a captured criminal of at least a-rank who holds important information." The man squeaked, startled at her appearance.

Anko chuckled, caressing his face. "And do you know why they're called red tabs?"

"Wh-why?"

"Because they're so hard to break that by the time you're finished with them…they're so red and bloody that you can't even identify their bodies after they're dragged out of here."

The man paled considerably, looking squeamish. They heard footsteps down the hallway and the smell of blood wafted through the room. Anko stood with a laugh, "Come on, kid. Let's go see a real one. They're getting ready to burn the body now."

She grabbed the younger man in a vicelike grip, making it impossible for him to decline as he was pulled towards the door. The Hyuga and the other interrogator followed, sharing a knowing look. Anko leaned in the doorway, "See?" She pointed as two cloaked shinobi carried a body on a stretcher, covered in a red sheet.

"I-is that sheet _supposed_ to be red?' The rookie squeaked.

Anko took a bite of her dango, which she had brought with her. "Nope."

The man swallowed.

Anko motioned for the two cloaked shinobi to stop. They did so, their gazes impatient. Anko merely shot them a wink before motioning for the rookie to come over to the body. "Let me show you a real red tab case."

The man was pushed forward by the other two interrogators and swallowed as he slowly made his way towards the crimson-stained cloth. The smell of blood was almost overpowering.

"Take a look." Anko said cheerfully as she lifted the sheet.

"Oh god." The rookie stumbled backwards, mouth over his hands as he rushed back into the lounge to throw up in the sink.

Anko motioned for the cloaked shinobi to continue with their job, smiling like the happiest woman alive as she turned to the other two interrogators, "That was fun."

"We lose more interrogators that way." The Hyuga sighed softly.

"They wouldn't have lasted long in here anyway if they couldn't stand just the _sight_ of it."

The other interrogator, a wizened woman whose face was a myriad of wrinkles, shot Anko a disapproving--yet highly amused--look. "True true, but weren't you looking for Haruno? Or were you just here to terrorize our new recruits?'

"Ah!" Anko grinned, "Yes, I was looking for my dear little Haruno." She twirled around, finished her dango and throwing the stick into a trashcan sitting in the hallway. "See you guys later!"

The old woman merely shook her head, leaning on her cane as she began walking back down the hallway to the entrance of the compound. The Hyuga hesitating, looking longingly down the darkened, dim hallway. He took a step forward, as if to go and see the pink-haired interrogator, before he sighed and followed the old woman out of the base.

Anko, on the other hand, practically skipped down the hallway. She saw the opened door at the end of the hallway and stopped, mischievous grin softening a bit. Sakura was leaning against the wall on the outside of the door, gaze hidden behind her pink bangs.

Her hands, although cleaned and scrubbed thoroughly, seemed to be stained red. Her usually immaculate white coat was covered in blood splatters.

"You get the info out of him?" Anko asked seriously, no longer joking. These kind of cases were never something to poke fun at.

Sakura didn't look up, and her voice was weary and husky with suppressed emotion as she spoke and held up a scroll.

"He was only fourteen."

"He was an Akatsuki informant." Anko whispered, taking the information from the younger girl.

She saw Sakura nod, a jerk of her head that made her bangs swish.

"I know."

"And he wasn't under a genjutsu. He wasn't being controlled…"

"I know."

"He did it of his own free will."

"That doesn't make it any easier." Sakura cut in. She stood slowly, stuffing her bloodstained hands into bloodstained pockets. "He did it to save his mother and little brother."

Anko looked down. "He killed hundreds of people for the Akatsuki, Haruno."

"Hai." Sakura nodded. "I need to go. I should rest before I meet up with my team for our mission tomorrow." She merely pushed passed Anko, heading down the hall with a heavy gait. Anko watched her slouched form dissapear around a corner, and then heard a few doors close as Sakura headed out of the compound.

Anko knew what Sakura had wanted to say. It was the same thing that Anko asked herself every time she had to interrogate someone.

_I kill for my Kage as well. One day…will I be sitting in one of those chairs being tortured? Will I leave a __base like this in a body bag with no one to remember my name or mourn for me?_

And the answer was always the same.

Yes.

* * *

The next day began as uneventful as always, and Karin couldn't help but realize that the day didn't seem to begin right, because there was no annoying pink-haired sensei to greet them and make sarcastic remarks. The only thing that made the day seem a bit brighter was to know that they'd be meeting back up with her in the Forest later that day. She hated to think that, because all she wanted to do was hate the girl. 

Karin twirled their teams scroll between her fingers before slipping it into her pack. "This is going to be a breeze."

"Don't forget our _other _mission." Suigetsu muttered softly, and they noticed the serious tone to his voice. Karin nodded, while Sasuke remained silent.

The night before had been long as they'd waited for the second part of the Exam to begin. They'd gone their separate ways after completing the 1st exam easily. Sasuke had fleetingly wondered if Sakura was going to be waiting for them outside of the room to congratulate them--in that sarcastic voice of hers--for getting this far. But she was busy. She had her own duties.

And so they had all gone home…and he hadn't slept very well. It was annoying, because he was a light sleeper in the first place, but the fact that he had seemed paranoid ever since meeting Yasu and her Mist-nin team made his eyes flicker open at every little sound.

He wanted them to come…wanted the mist-nin to come to his door so he could kill them and become stronger. The leader…Yasu with her Akatsuki kasa…she was his ultimate rival in this Exam and he would enjoy defeating her. He would prove to himself that he had the ability to take the Akatsuki down one by one. They were not powerful enough for him.

He would kill any of them that stood in the way of his goals for revenge.

But they didn't come, and neither did she.

No one came and he was alone…like he had always been.

The proctors were staring at the team silently, a few swallowing. When they had been asked to sign the forms saying that the proctors weren't responsible if they died, team 13 had scoffed at them, Suigetsu had laughed and asked if they even knew who they were talking to.

"Death is nothing we have not dealt with before. Don't insult us." Karin sneered.

"Let's go." Sasuke left the form in the proctor's hand.

And then they'd heard a cruel laugh from the Mist team, and the chime of bells as Yasu's kasa shifted with the force of her laughter.

Then Juro had spoken, "You really should sign those. After all, we wouldn't want to kill you during the Exam and then have to deal with all of that legal shit."

"You want to start something?" Suigetsu growled.

Juro merely gave a feral grin, "Let's go, mist traitor."

"It won't matter if he signs the form or not, when the Uchiha dies…after all, there's no family to get angry for his purposeless death." Keiichi stated calmly.

There was a long moment of strained silence as everyone looked from the mist-nin to team 13. Sasuke's gaze was hidden, but there was a deadly aura around him. The other Genin began to have second doubts about this Exam. After all, they had known that Sasuke's team was almost unbeatable…but this other team had the guts to _insult_ THE Uchiha Sasuke.

But Yasu had merely calmed her teammates, holding up a silent hand before the two backed down.

"Forgive my teammates, Uchiha. They're…overexcited."

"Hn."

And that had been the end of it. The teams had separated, waiting as the second proctor went over the rules.

The other Genin had become silent, their fear growing

At the other end of the group of waiting teams, Yasu watched Team 13 from behind her kasa. Beside her, Juro grumbled with impatience. Keiichi remained silent, his eyes closed as he meditated. The owl on his shoulder gave a small hoot, peering out at the Uchiha's team.

"Soon." Yasu whispered, and her voice was laced with anticipation. "But we must be patient."

Juro grumbled once again. "Why can't we just--"

"Don't anger me, Juro."

Juro swallowed at Yasu's tone, and Keiichi opened one eye to peer at him in reproach. He sighed, "You know better than to irritate Yasu, Juro. She wants to kill them just as much as we do." He saw a small, cruel smile twist Yasu's full lips. _Perhaps more so than us, Juro. She's after more than just blood._

Keiichi then spoke to Yasu, his voice soft and yet stern, "But merely remember, Yasu…of your two masters, one holds more power over you."

Yasu chuckled. "I know my place, Keiichi. Don't patronize me, lest I decide to lift my kasa." Keiichi stiffened at the threat.

"Sometimes, however…" Yasu turned, the movement making the bells on her kasa chime. "I wonder why I even bother with the weakling."

They both understood her message, and it chilled them to the core. Yasu was more than just their teammate.

Yasu was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode and kill everything in her way.

And they, for one, did not want to be a part of her collection.

* * *

"Hurry up." Suigetsu grunted as Karin lagged a bit behind her two male teammates. They'd been traveling into the Forest for a good hour and a half. Sakura would be expecting them at the meeting place soon, and they were going to be late if she didn't hurry. 

Karin gave an inaudible grumble. She didn't want to admit that she was looking forward to meeting up with the pink-haired girl, if only to have someone to bitch at other than Suigetsu. Besides, the testosterone these two emitted was almost palpable.

She needed a female teammate and fast.

It wasn't that she didn't _like_ that Sasuke was manly--dear god she loved it, he was so strong and mysterious and _sexy_--it was just…there was only so much 'I am man, hear me roar' that she could stand.

Even fan girls have their limits.

"We've already got our scroll." Karin sighed, motioning to the one situated on her left hip. "Why can't we just take a break? It won't take us a full thirty minutes to get to the meeting spot. We need to catch our breath."

"Stop whining." Sasuke's voice cut through the silence.

Karin blushed hotly.

"It'll be better to get there early, anyway," Suigetsu called back to his female teammate. "If Sakura gets there early then we can start this stupid _mission_ early and _finish _it early and _then _we can take a break."

"Whatever." Karin huffed, even though her cheeks still burned from Sasuke's rebuke.

* * *

They arrived at the designated spot ten minutes later. 

"See?" Karin placed her hands on her hips. "We should have taken a break! It wouldn't have mattered either way, since she isn't even here!"

"And who said I wasn't here?" Came a placid reply from their right. All three turned to see their 'sensei' leaning against a tree trunk, eyes closed as she seemed to sleep. She opened them, and her gaze was weary and hollow, as if she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.

"Hey, are you ok? You look _horrible_." Karin sneered.

Sakura snorted. "I've been here all night."

"Eh?" Karin and Suigetsu exclaimed. "All night? Why?'

"This entire Forest was being watched since daybreak. There would have been no way for me to enter undetected then."

"So you came here and slept?' Suigetsu grinned.

Sakura shrugged, standing. "Let's get started. Karin, you and Suigetsu will patrol the east wing. Sasuke and I will take the northwest."

"But--" Karin bristled at being separated from her dear Sasuke-kun.

"Come on Karin." Suigetsu drawled. "Let's go. This is a mission, remember? Besides, Sakura is so tired I doubt she has the energy to rape your little Sasuke-kun."

Karin gave a hiss, throwing a small, silent tantrum before stomping after Suigetsu, face red with indignation.

Sakura watched them go, then turned to Sasuke. "I discovered an underground passageway through the Forest." She motioned to a gap in the roots of one of the large trees. "We'll need to go through them and make sure that no villages are using the passages as a way to smuggle shinobi into Konoha."

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, following after her. They entered the darkened root cave, and Sasuke breathed in the smell of damp earth. Sakura crouched, sliding down a muddy embankment. Sasuke followed, not liking the feeling of the mud rubbing against his arms, sticking to his clothes.

They landed inside of what looked like a passageway carved out of the earth. Roots hung above them, making a strange, almost artistic looking ceiling with their twists and gnarled appearance.

"Here." He heard Sakura whisper, because the place was too dark to see. "Thirty degrees to your right, use a fire jutsu."

Sasuke complied silently, and as soon as the fire hit the torch in Sakura's hand the passageway burst into a warm, orange glow. Sasuke saw a small pile of unlit torches at his feet. Sakura answered his questioning gaze, "After this passageway was discovered an Anbu patrol brought in some torches in case we needed to search them more extensively."

"Smoke?"

"The roots seem to have a strange ability to absorb it. No one will see the smoke escaping through the opening." Sakura answered, walking forward. They went in silence for a few minutes, and for once, it wasn't uncomfortable.

"How far do these passages go??' Sasuke finally questioned, twenty minutes in. They'd made so many twists and turns that he was positive they would never be able to find their way back.

"All the way to the Valley of the End, if I'm not mistaken." Sakura answered back softly. She took another step forward, before her foot snapped on a root and she pitched forward with a small gasp. She didn't hit the ground, however.

Instead, Sasuke held her loosely in his arms. Sakura looked up at him, and the torchlight flickered in obsidian depths. She swallowed, not liking how handsome he looked in the dim light as she hurriedly stood on her own. His hands went to her shoulders to steady her as she did so, and they remained there a few seconds longer than was necessary.

This time the silence was awkward, before Sakura coughed, "Let's continue."

He nodded, and they continued their descent into darkness.

* * *

**(A\N: Yay for small SasuSaku moments:D We're finally seeing some interaction between the two that isn't just them insulting each other. The Mist-nin are definitely more sneaky then you originally thought, ne? And just what DID Sakura find out from the Akatsuki informant? You'll find out later, of course:)**

**Well, I just seem to be on a roll today. I just updated Heart of an Artist and now this. I don't know what I'll get the chance to update Shisui though…anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it. So many new questions have arisen, ne?**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	19. Chapter 18: Doujutsu

**(A\N: Ok so um…maybe I need to clear up a few things for some people who are worried with my characterization of some characters…one: Sakura is NOT stronger than Sasuke. Sasuke didn't even go into his curse seal mode, as Sakura says in the last chapter (I think? Or maybe the one before…) he was caught off guard—which can happen to the BEST shinobi even in the Naruto world—and he has his own reasons for staying in Konoha that will be revealed later…two: At this point in time, even if Naruto IS more mature than he used to be…I really can't see him as a leader just yet. Naruto isn't that analytical. He has the leader charisma and all, but he hasn't grown up enough yet to lead a real team into a mission and get them all out alive, in my opinion. And Naruto will have a more major role later on in the story when Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto take the Jonin Exams. :D Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!)**

**Disclaimer: ...I don't own. If that hasn't been obvious yet well...here ya go.**

**Chapter 18**

**Doujutsu**

* * *

Sakura slumped down to the ground as they declared a break in their search. Three hours of twisting hallways and the musky scent of decaying flora was beginning to get to her. They had decided to douse their torch so if they did meet anyone in the tunnels they wouldn't know they were coming because of the flames.

To tell the truth, she supposed she wasn't over her earlier interrogation episode. _The kid_…her hands clenched and her shoulders slumped. She wondered if Sasuke noticed—she highly doubted he _cared_.

She remembered the file clearly…and Ibiki's small note.

_I know that you decline every child interrogation that I give you Haruno, but there are times when you must get over your weakness. This child looks innocent, but he isn't. He kills and he _enjoys_ it. No matter what he tells you, remember that. You, of all people, know that even children can be cold-blooded killers. _

And she knew the significance of the small black dot in the middle of the red tab on his file.

He was to be killed once all the useful information was gathered from him.

She remembered healing him several times throughout the interrogation, listening to his cries of pain as she asked questions in that _sickeningly calm_ voice of hers and telling him that if he answered her she would make the pain go away.

_I'm a monster._

No, not a monster, just a fucking hypocrite. She tried to justify it, told herself that she was doing it to save the lives of hundreds, maybe thousands of people…but it never worked.

"How long?" His voice echoed in the silent earthen hallway and she almost winced at how loud it seemed compared to the stagnant silence.

"Two hours, then we'll head up to meet with Suigetsu and Karin."

"Hn."

Sakura grunted in return, forcing herself to stand. Her legs protested but she ignored it, sighing softly as she ran her fingers over the cool steel of a kunai from her weapons pouch. She cocked her head to the side, eyes narrowed. Sasuke remained silent and unmoving, but she could tell he was listening as well.

The sound ended and Sakura raised an eyebrow in question. Sasuke nodded, he'd heard it as well. She pointed with her eyes to the darkened hallway to the left. She then began running down the hallway silently, hearing the soft 'tk' of Sasuke's sandals behind her.

Sakura slowed to a stop as a soft orange glow began at the turn in the hallway ahead of them. She lifted a hand, knowing that Sasuke could see her outline in the darkness.

She pressed herself against the wall, eyes narrowed as the glow became brighter with each passing second. So…someone else was in the tunnels.

"So you really think we can breach Konoha's security with these things?" Came a gruff voice.

"Of course! Look, I mean, these tunnels are abandoned and they run through _all of Konoha_ even the actual village—and the Hokage tower!" This voice seemed a bit younger, female. It was shrill and whiny.

"Are you sure that the Konoha shinobi don't know about them?" Gruff voice asked.

"I'm positive." Whiny answered back, then let out a laugh. "We'll get that Hyuga girl this time."

Sakura felt herself freeze as ice seemed to fill her veins and her eyes narrowed dangerously. They were after a Hyuga? And what did they mean by 'this time'? This could only mean they'd had an encounter with one of the Hyuga females before.

Sakura exchanged a look with Sasuke before a foot appeared at the corner of the hallway. Sasuke brushed past her—he was faster, so he would make the initial attack. Sakura was only a few seconds behind him, gripping her kunai in one hand and beginning her chakra scalpel jutsu with the other.

The moment Sasuke rounded the corner the female shrieked—before Sakura heard the sound of a blade slicing through flesh and the smell of blood filled her senses. She almost slipped on the sticky liquid as she turned the corner herself to see Sasuke fighting the male shinobi that she guessed was the one with the gruff voice.

She kneeled next to the female's dead body, eyes going over every inch of her. The headband around her neck was Cloud. Sakura's eyes widened. Cloud…Hinata!

"Sasuke! Keep him alive. We'll need to get him to Ibiki-san."

Sasuke nodded as he slammed his sword through the man's shoulder, causing him to yell out in pain before falling unconscious due to blood loss. Sasuke let him slump to the ground with a small 'hn'.

"Do you think there are any more?" Sakura asked finally, watching Sasuke's profile in the flickering light of the fallen torch.

Sasuke shrugged, and the light began to sputter out as the blood leaking from the female cloud-nin's body engulfed it.

"Grab the man. We'll leave him at the checkpoint and then head up to see if Suigetsu and Karin sensed anything." Sakura answered, pulling out a scroll and doing a few handsigns. The moment she did so the scroll began to glow in the growing darkness before a yellow canary appeared in Sakura's hand with a poof of smoke.

"Hello there," It chirped.

Sakura nodded. "Tell Hyuga-san that he needs to come to the checkpoint for a dropoff." The canary nodded before zipping past them just as the torch went out, plunging them into darkness.

"Hyuga-san?" Came Sasuke's emotionless voice.

"From the interrogation unit."

"Hn."

Sakura shifted in the darkness. "Let's head to the checkpoint."

"Why do you have his summoning?"

"…why do you care?"

* * *

"Oh man…" Karin groaned, leaning against a tree at the area where she, Suigetsu, Sasuke, and Sakura were supposed to meet up. "My feet are killing me!"

"Stop whining." Suigetsu grunted, pulling out a rag as he began cleaning his sword.

"You wouldn't have to do that if you hadn't lopped those guys' heads off." Karin snapped.

"You heard what Sakura-sensei said. We were supposed to kill anyone who wasn't supposed to be here."

Karin huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You were supposed to keep one of them alive, dumbass."

"It's fine. I'm sure Sakura-sensei saved one."

Karin rolled her eyes. "You are so full of it. You don't have to call her sensei when she isn't here, you know."

"Maybe I want to." Suigetsu shot back. "What's it to you?"

Karin merely gave a small grunt. "She's the same age as we are. It's a stupid title."

"Whatever, you're just jealous."

Karin opened her mouth to yell at him when Sasuke and Sakura entered the small clearing. Both were covered in blood but it didn't seem to be their own.

"So you guys met up with some shinobi too, eh?" Suigetsu asked, raising an eyebrow. It was only then that he noticed that Sasuke looked a little more moody than usual and Sakura's eyes were flickering in a mixture of confusion and amusement.

"Three teams of two, all Cloud-nin." Sakura finally answered. "What about you?'

"Ours were Cloud-nin too." Karin piped in before rushing to Sasuke's side. "You aren't hurt, are you Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn."

"So…the Cloud-nin are after the Hyuga Clan, namely Hinata." Sakura whispered to herself. She sighed. "Alright, you three need to head to the tower. It will arouse suspicion if you aren't one of the first teams to arrive."

There was a collective nod from the three.

"Where will you be?"

"I'll be with Hyuga-san interrogating the Cloud-nin we apprehended."

"See! I knew they'd catch one." Suigetsu shot back at Karin. Karin began yelling at him over something and neither of them seemed to notice the way Sasuke's eyes flickered crimson at the mention of Hyuga-san.

* * *

Sakura entered the tower two days later before any of the teams, as had been dictated by the rules. If it looked like she had helped her team to get here they would immediately be disqualified. _As if they needed help._

"Sakura-san!"

Sakura blinked, turning to see Lee jumping up and down in the middle of the battle arena. She raised an eyebrow at that, leaning over the railing to call out to him. "What is it, Lee?"

"I am the proctor for this part of the Exam, Sakura-san! Is that not exciting?"

"It's only the preliminaries." She deadpanned, and she saw Lee wilt in disappointment. She merely sighed, "It must be…um…a youthful experience, ne?" She winced, because the moment she said the 'y' word Lee began to grin like a fool.

"Hai!"

"Well, my team will be arriving soon…I'd better go and meet them." Sakura murmured, even as her eyes roved around the entire small stadium. The other senseis dotted the upper halls like herself. Several of them she did not recognize, and that surprised her. She hadn't thought that so many shinobi from the other villages would have made it this far. Then again, this was the largest Chunin Exam in history, so there was bound to be more teams that passed then before.

Her eyes narrowed as she recognized the Cloud emblem on two of the Jonin. They would be the ones that needed to be watched. By someone else, however, since her target was currently standing only ten feet away from her.

"Ah, Sakura-san." She heard the calming voice before the woman's soft footsteps echoed across the small distance between them. She stopped a respectful three feet away, giving Sakura her space. At least unlike other people Shinju seemed to understand that Sakura hated others in her personal space.

Sakura merely looked over at Shinju with one eyebrow raised, still leaning against the railing. "Yes?"

"How difficult is it to control three full-grown shinobi, including your old teammate?" Shinju's voice had a teasing lilt to it like before as she leaned against the railing beside the pink-haired kunoichi, looking down as the Genin teams slowly filed onto the first floor to stand in front of Lee.

"I don't control them." Sakura muttered, and there was a hint of bitterness in her voice. "They're a bunch of stubborn asses."

She heard Shinju laugh softly, before she answered back, peering down at her own team. "I can't control mine either."

Sakura stiffened, because Shinju's tone had become weary and…sad? Or was that a small catch in her voice when she said it as she peered at Yasu?

"Why haven't they taken the Exam till now? They are the same age as Sasuke and the others." Sakura observed as Lee began going over the preliminary round rules.

"…Yasu did not wish to." Was Shinju's only answer.

"And you listen to her? Aren't you her sensei?"

Shinju turned to look at Sakura with dark eyes, eyes that were almost pleading and a little amused. "If you knew Yasu, Sakura-san, you would realize that no one controls her except her master." And then she pushed herself off of the railing and headed towards where her team was coming up the stairs.

Karin, Sasuke, and Suigetsu appeared beside Sakura a second later, keeping her from thinking on Shinju's cryptic words any further.

"Preliminaries? This is so stupid!" Karin whined.

"No it isn't. It gives us a chance to view our opponents' battle strategies. It's better this way." Suigetsu grunted, slumping back against the wall and closing his eyes. His large sword clanged against the concrete as he did so.

"Hn."

"The names of the two genin that will appear on the screen will tell us who is going to fight. These names were chosen at random." Lee announced. "If I feel like I need to stop a fight I will." Sakura could almost hear the anticipation in his voice at the thought.

Everyone turned to look at the screen. One name appeared: Yasu. Sakura could almost see Sasuke lean forward in excitement, but it must have been a trick of the lighting.

Vs. Takumi.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed a bit in disappointment. He didn't recognize the other person's name, as a Sand-nin leapt off of the balcony with a grin. He was a rather arrogant looking Genin, with a mop of dark brown hair on his head.

Yasu appeared on the ground opposite him. Her stance was one of boredom.

"Begin!" Lee shouted.

Silence reigned, before Takumi shrugged as he looked at Yasu. "I didn't want to have to fight a girl, but I guess there's no helping it."

"Don't think of me as a female…" Yasu murmured darkly. "Merely think of me as your…executioner."

Takumi laughed. "Those are some pretty strong words. I bet that I can defeat you in three moves."

Yasu chuckled. "I bet I can kill you in one."

Takumi's eyes narrowed. "We'll see about that."

Yasu sighed softly, "You're boring. I won't even have to move from this spot to kill you."

"What's that!? Let's end this!" And Takumi lunged forward.

Sasuke watched Yasu closely. He could see a small, sadistic grin tilt her full lips as she lifted her kasa slightly.

And Takumi froze, the only one able to see her eyes--before he began screaming.

He dropped to his knees, hands clawing at his head. They dug into his scalp, causing droplets of blood to splatter upon the ground.

"Stop the match!" Takumi's female member screamed in fright.

But Takumi merely continued screaming as Yasu tugged her kasa back down to shadow her face once more.

Takumi's ears began bleeding as he cried, slamming his head into the concrete floor as if that would somehow stop the pain.

"STOP IT TAKUMI!" The female member screamed again.

"Release him, this match is over." Takumi's sensei said gravely.

Yasu, who had begun walking back up the stairs, turned to look at the whimpering body whose face was now a bloody mess.

"One move. That's all it took." Was all she said before she disappeared and reappeared beside Shinju. Her two teammates backed away from her slightly, as if afraid, and Shinju stiffened.

"Undo it, Yasu." Shinju said calmly.

Silence.

"Now." She ordered, her voice firmer as the boy continued to scream and bleed.

Yasu looked up at Shinju and their eyes met. Everyone saw Shinju wince, but she held her ground, even as her hand seemed to inch towards her weapon's pouch.

Then Yasu merely did a hand seal with a disappointed sigh that could almost be called a childish pout. "Very well."

Takumi slumped to the ground, unconscious. The medic-nin began rushing forward but Sakura got to him first. "This is serious. Massive trauma to the skull. There might be some cerebral hemorraghing." She whispered, and felt her stomach plummet.

His teammates appeared behind him, and the girl was wailing.

"Will he be alright?" She managed to ask between her hiccups as the medics began placing him gingerly on a stretcher. Sakura, who hands were now fully covered in his blood, didn't answer as she continued trying to keep him alive.

All that ran through her mind was a series of complex medical jutsus as she assessed the situation.

He had about a twenty percent chance of living at the moment.

Of that twenty percent chance that he survived there was a seventy-five percent chance he would live the rest of his days out in a vegetative state. Whatever Yasu had done to him had made his entire brain began to have a meltdown, or that was what she could gather at the moment. Even if he didn't end up living the rest of his life in a coma there was an eighty-three percent chance of him having lasting, debilitating emotional and psychological damages.

Percents and numbers, those were the only things she could think of as she walked alongside the stretcher, barking out orders to the other medic-nin present. The Sand-nin sensei had pulled the kunoichi of his team back even as she tried to follow them, screaming.

Besides the girl's sobs and Sakura's orders, the entire room was filled with tense silence.

The moment the medic-nin's left the room everyone turned to Lee. He swallowed, "Takumi is unable to battle…Yasu is the winner."

* * *

"Sakura…?"

"Sakura-chan?"

"Hey forehead!"

"Sakura-senpai?"

"Sakura-san?"

Sakura let out a small groan before her eyes slowly flickered open. She was sleeping in a rather uncomfortable position with her head on her patient's bed, propped up by her arms. She must have been there all day…

She sat up and groaned as her back seemed to creak. She rubbed it with a wince, before turning to the people crowding around her. The first one who had spoken was Shizune, who was holding a cup of coffee and a knowing smile. Any time Sakura did a high-level healing she needed coffee. Sakura could only hope that there wasn't anything in it. She loved her coffee plain.

The second two people who had spoken were Naruto and Ino, although that was obvious. Judging by the fact that both of them were here it meant that the second part of the Exam was over with.

The one who had called her senpai was one of the nurses, who was holding bandages, gauze, and disinfectants and a tray of medication. It clicked in her mind that her patient's wounds needed to be cleaned and medicated, and she nodded, "I'll do it." The nurse looked releaved as she left the items on the bedside table before leaving.

The last person to have spoken was a voice she didn't recognize. Only when she turned around did she realize that it was the Sand-nin's sensei. She blinked a few times as realitzation dawned, "Kankuro!" She had forgotten that he was a Jonin sensei and that his team was taking the Chunin Exam this year.

He smiled at her, though it was a bit forced. "Yeah."

She smiled back, noticing the two young genin sitting in chairs behind him. Both were asleep. One was the kunoichi who had been screaming Takumi's name. Her body was covered in scratches but she looked healthy otherwise. The other sported a splint on his arm.

"They both passed." Kankuro supplied. Sakura nodded with a smile.

"So did everyone on your team, Sakura-chan." Naruto grinned. His gaze softened a bit, as Ino and Shizune silently excused themselves to continue their work. Sakura sipped her hot coffee as she waited for either of them to speak.

"Is he going to be ok?" Kankuro's voice was barely above a whisper.

Sakura looked down at her cup of coffee, then over at the young boy lying on the bed next to her. His entire head and face were bandaged, with a special gauze over his eyes.

"…he's going to pull through." Sakura finally managed to croak out. "His vitals are stable. He isn't in a comatose state so I'm not worried about that. He'll be awake in a few days, possible a week and a half. I want him to stay at the hospital with me for longer than that, however. I can't…" And she swallowed because she _hated_ giving bad news to her patients and their loved ones. "I can't promise that he'll be well mentally."

Kankuro nodded, though he looked like he had aged ten years.

"Don't worry Kankuro!" Naruto grinned. "Sakura-chan is an expert with cases like these! She can make Takumi better."

_At least one of us has faith in me._

"I am working with another patient with psychological damage." Sakura explained at Kankuro's confused and questioning glance. "His case is different but I seem to be the leading medic-nin here in psychological cases, due to my workings with the interrogation unit."

There was a collective nod from the other two. The two genin continued to sleep.

Sakura gave a soft sigh as she ran a hand through her hair and then began unwraveling the bandages around Takumi's head.

"What did she do to him?"

"It was a doujutsu or genjutsu of some kind, at least that's my guess." Sakura answered back. "I'm going to ask Karin about it, since she can sense different chakra signatures better than I can. Somehow it ravaged Takumi's mind and caused him to try and kill himself to take away the pain. I don't know what he could have seen. But judging from the fact that even inflicting pain upon himself couldn't stop the jutsu it is probably one of the unbreakable ones, like the Tsukuyomi."

Another nod.

Then Kankuro placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder and she looked up into grateful eyes. "I guess now I have to repay you for saving _two_ lives, ne?" And Sakura realized he was talking about the time she had saved him from Sasori's poison.

She nodded, too tired to do much else. Luckily the caffeine was beginning to kick in.

"Well…I'd better take these two to get some rest. When can they come visit him?"

"Tommorrow." Sakura answered wearily. "He'll probably still be asleep, however. But I want to see if perhaps he will respond positively to their voices."

Kankuro nodded, picking up his two students as if they weighed nothing.

"Kankuro?"

"Hai?"

"…does Takumi have a doujutsu?"

Kankuro's brow furrowed before he nodded, standing in the doorway. "Hai. It's a small one, he doesn't use it very often. It allows him to see his opponents chakra."

Sakura muttered something under her breath that neither Kankuro or Naruto could distinguish before she looked up at the two of them. "Alright, thank you for the information, Kankuro. I'll be working more on Takumi's case tomorrow."

Kankuro gave her one last smile before closing the door behind him with a soft click.

"Who was that girl, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked softly as soon as they were alone.

Sakura shrugged as she unwrapped the bandages around Takumi's face. She heard Naruto swallow hard at the sight of Takumi's torn face. Even with medical assistance his face was a myriad of cuts and bruises. The skin was discolored in blotches and his eyes were swollen shut. His nose was broken.

"I don't know Naruto…" Sakura finally answered as she began lathering the new bandages in a cream that Shizune had brought. It would help with the swelling and any infection. She began wrapping his head again, careful to give him room to breathe. She didn't wrap his eyes yet either.

"All I know is…when I looked at the damage given to Takumi's eyes…it's as if they were burned. I don't know if he'll ever be able to see again…" She swallowed, and there was a lump in her throat as she forced herself not to cry. "I didn't want to tell Kankuro yet. Tomorrow…I'll tell him tomorrow."

Naruto nodded. "It's ok Sakura-chan. There's nothing you can do."

"I'm going to try and heal them, if he is indeed blind. Surely there is a way to create new nerves, or rejuvenate the old ones."

Naruto gave her a bright smile. "I know you can do it, Sakura-chan."

Sakura merely gave a tired nod before she grabbed a special gauze—a blue one. She placed a small amount of chakra on her finger before she wrote a seal pattern on the blue gauze with it. The lines flared to life on the cloth before sinking into it.

"What is that, Sakura-chan?"

"Hinata and I created this." Sakura answered back as she began wrapping it around Takumi's eyes. "It is a special seal that helps heal the eyes. It is meant specifically for doujutsu." _We created it to help the Hyuga members who were overusing their Byakugan on missions. Like Neji._

"So that's why you asked Kankuro if Takumi had a doujutsu, ne?"

Sakura shook her head. "No Naruto…that isn't it."

There was a moment of strained silence before Naruto spoke again. "Well come on, you're probably starving. Your team is waiting for us at Ichiraku with Kakashi and Sai. We don't want them to kill each other now do we?"

"I have work—"

"All of your shifts for today were covered. Tsunade-baachan says that Juugo missed you," Naruto finished with a grin before he grabbed her arm and began steering her out of the room. "Don't worry, a nurse can come in and give him his shots. You already gave him some painkillers."

"Naruto—" Sakura began, and her tone took on a warning tone that reminded him of their younger days. He merely grinned as he continued pulling her down the hospital hallway.

* * *

"So." Kakashi coughed, "You guys um…passed."

"Hn."

"Yeah."

"Whatever."

Kakashi almost sweatdropped. The responses he was getting from Sakura's three students wasn't what he had been expecting. Well, he expected it from Sasuke but he had thought the other two were more talkative. Sai, at the moment, was watching them with interest, trying to pick up any tips for interacting with others from them.

Sasuke's ramen was untouched in front of him. Suigetsu had already finished off two bowls and Karin was eating hers while trying to discreetly scoot closer to Sasuke.

"Hey! HEY LOOK YOU GUYS! I found Sakura-chan!" Came a loud voice from their left. Naruto grinned at them all before plunking himself down in a seat beside Sai.

Sakura entered a second later, looking withdrawn and tired. She nodded her head in greeting at them all and took the only open seat—beside Karin. She didn't seem to mind as she ordered herself a cup of sake.

"Sake?' Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "I knew you were going to take after me."

Sakura snorted. "I need it right now." She then turned to the three members of team 13. "So, how did your battles go?"

"We won, of course." Karin scoffed.

"That's obvious."

"Our fights were pretty easy, just some common genin. We knocked 'em unconscious before they could do any real damage to themselves." Suigetsu snickered. His eyes were gleaming with excitement. "Guess who Sasuke gets to fight?"

"Who?"

"Yasu." Sasuke spoke, his voice emotionless. But Sakura could see something glinting in his eyes. She stiffened in her seat, and the others thought that she had paled slightly.

"Hey, you ok?"

"You can't fight her, Sasuke." Sakura answered back tonelessly.

"Why not?" Karin snapped. "He's strong enough, isn't he?"

"Whatever her jutsu is…it works specifically against other doujutsu."

"Nani?"

"It burns them. Sasuke's Sharingan would be obliterated." Sakura turned to look at Sasuke over Karin's head. "…and it's a good possibility that the Sharingan would be useless after that."

There was a long moment of tense silence as Sakura and Sasuke stared each other down, both waiting for the other to speak.

"Hn." Sasuke turned away to take a sip of his tea. "I'll defeat her."

Sakura's lips thinned in irritation. "Fine. It's your funeral, not mine." And then she pushed herself away from the table, walking away from the Ichiraku stand and into the darkness.

"Hey wait!" Naruto chocked on his ramen, before glaring at Sasuke. "Dammit teme, why do you have to be such an ass?"

"Hn."

"I'll go get her." Karin murmured quietly.

Silence.

The others stared at her in surprise and Karin began blushing as she snapped out, "I have to ask her something, ok!?" And with that she ran down the street in the direction Sakura had gone, leaving the others to stare at her in shock.

* * *

"Hey! Hey you!"

Sakura sighed softly to herself as she turned around, stopping in the middle of the road as she waited for Karin to catch up.

"What is it?" She finally asked as Karin neared her, breathing heavily.

"I uh…I wanted to talk to you." Karin muttered, looking uncomfortable.

Sakura watched her suspiciously, trying to see if Karin was tricking her in some way. Finally she nodded. "Alright. Walk with me then."

Karin followed behind her, noticing that they weren't walking to Sakura's apartment. They were heading towards the residential part of Konoha.

"Well I…in our new matches…I've been paired against Keiichi, you know, the creepy guy with the owl on Yasu's team?"

Sakura nodded.

"When we watched his battle earlier in the prelims he used a lot of taijutsu. I'm bad at taijutsu so I thought…the best way to fight him is going to be with genjutsu. But His owl seemed able to see through low level genjutsu so…I wanted to know if you could help me with that."

"You want me to help you with your genjutsu?"

"Hai." It seemed to be taking all of Karin's strength to admit she needed help.

Sakura sighed. "Very well. Tomorrow night, meet me at my apartment. We'll begin with a few of the more complex ones since I have a feeling you know the basics." Karin nodded at this. "And then maybe I can teach you a few that I made on my own. Also, we need to work a bit on your chakra control since those genjutsu won't work to their fullest without perfect chakra control."

"I see." Karin nodded. Her brow furrowed a bit as they stopped in front of a medium sized home. It wasn't expansive, but it was a nice size, comfortable and homey looking. "Where are we?"

"This is my parent's home. They wanted to have me over for dinner." Sakura explained. She saw Karin look up at the house in curiosity and perhaps a bit of apprehension. Of course…Karin probably hadn't ever had a family or sat at a table eating a home cooked meal while laughing with her mother and father.

Sakura's gaze softened a bit as she placed a hand on Karin's shoulder. "Hey…you wanna come in?"

* * *

**(A\N: So? This chapter is a little longer than I thought it would be. :D And I'm sorry for all of you reading Heart of an Artist…I just haven't got any inspiration for that one at the moment. Hopefully it will hit me soon. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. In the next one…well…Karin will be introduced to the Haruno family, Sakura will treat Takumi, we'll find out what happened at the interrogation session with the Cloud-nin, and Sasuke will brood over Sakura's actions at Ichiraku. :D**

**Until then, see ya!**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	20. Chapter 19: Not Quite So Perfect

**(A\N: Sorry this chapter is so late...I hope the small hints of SasuSaku interaction make up for it...:D there will be more SasuSaku increasing from now on.)**

* * *

**Chapter 19**

**Not Quite So Perfect**

* * *

Yasu tugged her kasa down further upon her head as she continued down the dirt path out of Konoha. Her footsteps were light, her sandals only making noise when they brushed against errant stones sticking out of the dirt.

The leaves rustled in the soft wind and brushed her cloak, making it wrap around her thin legs, which, upon inspection, were covered in bandages.

She stopped a mile or so out of the village into a tiny clearing by a small creek, which was more a mere trickle of water than anything else. She sat herself down on a stone beside the creek and waited, getting into a relaxed meditative position.

It didn't take long for there was a sudden fluctuation of chakra and Yasu's eyes snapped open, still hidden behind her kasa. She tilted her head up slightly to see the figure she had been looking for. He was hidden in the shadows of the trees, but she knew his shadowed outline immediately.

"Yasu."

"Master." Yasu bowed deeply from her place on the rock—a strangely graceful move for someone sitting down in a meditative position.

She heard him chuckle and it brought a sinister smile to her own lips just by the sound.

"Have you been discovered?"

Yasu snorted. "My teammates are idiots. They are afraid of me but they do not know who I serve. I believe that Shinju, my sensei, has a suspicion that it is you but she has said nothing to me yet."

"Shinju was always too smart for her own good." Her master grunted.

Yasu nodded. "No one at the competition will be of any interest to you, save for your target. Although I _am_ looking forward to my fight with the Uchiha."

At this a second figure—one who had been standing beside her master—stiffened. She had barely noticed him, for he seemed to be made of shadows himself. She knew him, however, and his reaction made her smile maliciously beneath the cover of her cloak's high collar.

"Will we continue with our attack?" Yasu leaned forward eagerly.

But her master merely shook his head. "No. Not yet. We cannot take the Kyuubi when he is so perfectly protected. Soon…soon we will take him."

"But what of my other…_leader_?" Yasu asked calmly, yet a little apprehensively. "Master…Mist is going to attack with Cloud."

"And Stone?"

"They have no plan yet, but I feel they may actually side with Konoha."

She heard a low chuckle as the shadow shifted, his dark eyes glinting. "This is going to be fun, Yasu."

And Yasu's smile flickered maliciously as well. "Indeed."

And her master's partner merely gave a noncommittal grunt before walking off. Her master gave a snort, "He's so impatient sometimes." Before he shifted the large object on his shoulder and disappeared as well.

* * *

Sakura watched Karin discreetly out of the corner of her eye. Karin seemed to be really contemplating Sakura's suggestion, she looked uncomfortable and yet excited at the same time.

_Almost there, _Sakura thought with an inward smile. Karin was the easiest of them to manipulate—and the easiest to befriend. Sakura had pinpointed Karin as the first to gain her trust because she was the easiest target.

Juugo trusted her already so she didn't need to worry about him. She'd figure some way to actually befriend Suigetsu later. Right now she needed to focus on the redheaded fangirl.

A bit of guilt welled up in her chest at the thought that she was merely befriending the members of Team Hebi to gain their trust to use against them if they turned on Konoha. But Sakura supposed she'd become cruel and callous to the world anyway. If Karin had been anyone else Sakura wouldn't have cared at all. She would have befriended her and then done away with her as soon as she had made her useful…but she couldn't do that…because Karin reminded her so much of herself.

And for some reason that made Sakura want to fix her. She wanted to make her _better_. If she could make her stronger she could, in her mind, make _herself_ stronger. She could save Karin from the heartache that was sure to come from being so weak and so obsessed with a boy who would never love her.

"Alright." Karin mumbled. "I guess I'll come in."

Sakura nodded at her sharply before walking up to the door and knocking three times. Karin almost flinched at the sound and was beginning to regret her decision, when the door opened and an older version of Sakura stuck her head out with a smile.

"Sakura-chan!"

"Hello mother." Sakura greeted her calmly, letting her mother take her into a large hug. Karin studied the woman discreetly. Her hair was a shade lighter than Sakura's—more like a pastel pink than the cherry blossom color. Her eyes were also, on closer inspection, blue instead of green.

She seemed to notice Karin for the first time and the redhead fidgeted under the woman's intense gaze. "And who is your guest, Sakura?"

"This is Karin, a colleague of mine." Sakura answered back blandly. "I invited her for dinner."

"Of course!" Her mother nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you Karin."

Karin nodded with a shy smile before Sakura's mother grabbed her hand and practically dragged her inside. "You're all skin and bones—just like my Sakura-chan! You two need to eat more. I swear, you aren't one of those girls who thinks she needs to diet to get a man are you? It's not healthy you know and—"

"Mother." Sakura's tone held a hint of warning in its usual monotone and Karin saw her mother deflate a bit, almost pouting. She let go of Karin's hand with a sigh before smiling. "Well I'll go and finish up dinner. Your father is in the dining room, dear."

Sakura nodded and beckoned for Karin to follow her. The entire house seemed to be filled with knick-knacks from foreign countries. It was a rather cluttered place, but Karin had never seen a home that looked so…comforting. It was large and messy and perfect. She wondered, would this be the kind of house her mother and father had lived in?

But she shook it off as they entered the dining room and a man sitting at the table looked up. He had sandy blond hair and bright emerald eyes that danced behind his glasses. He was handsome, she supposed, not too terribly cute but definitely not ugly. He was, like his wife, average. They were just two normal people and it was then that Karin realized that Sakura's parents must be civilians.

"Hello." Her father greeted, and Karin was surprised with the cultured smoothness to it. It was…beautiful, if she could really describe a male voice by a word that seemed so utterly feminine.

"Uh, hi!" Karin chirped. The moment he had spoken he had become well…_handsome_ and Karin hid a blush. _Oh my god…I am crushing on Sakura's _father_._

He smiled—oh such a beautiful, easygoing smile he had..._Think of Sasuke, think of Sasuke! My god--he's your sensei's FATHER!!_

"Dinner's ready!" Mrs. Haruno sang as she walked into the room carrying a tray laden with steaming food.

Karin sat down stiltedly at the table beside Sakura, feeling extremely flustered and more than a little afraid. What did you do during these kinds of situations? What were the proper topics of discussion at a dinner table—especially with civilian parents?

Karin merely took a bite of her food and her eyes widened in surprise before she swallowed and exclaimed, "This is amazing!"

Mrs. Haruno beamed, Mr. Haruno chuckled, and Sakura's mouth tilted into a smile that wasn't really as fake as she had wanted it to be. For some reason the look of utter surprise and delight that had appeared on Karin's face had seemed so perfect and right that Sakura couldn't help the smile that urged itself to become visible.

In fact, as Sakura looked from her parents to Karin, she suddenly felt like the outsider. She blinked a few times, because it hurt to see Karin conversing so easily with her mother who was fretting over the girl's thinness like a mother hen.

And it hurt because Sakura could see, over the course of the meal, that her parents were enjoying Karin's company immensely. And Sakura knew why. Karin was just like Sakura used to be. In Karin they saw their old daughter.

_This is the life I chose, I cannot regret it_. Sakura thought fervently, even as her hands tightened around her chopsticks. She placed them down for fear of snapping them and took a sip of her tea to calm herself. She enjoyed her job—well, she suppose enjoy wasn't the word she would use—but she felt as if she were _needed_ when she was a shinobi. She would have been no one without her jutsu and abilities. A weakling. A failure.

But sometimes she wondered if her work consumed her too much…because even now, as she listened to Karin asking about her parents' jobs and exclaiming in surprise at her discoveries, Sakura's mind was wandering to the interrogation of the Cloud-nin that had taken place a few days earlier.

_Sakura raked a bloody hand through her hair with a sigh. She then frowned as she looked up into the mirror and saw that her once pink hair was now a bright fuschia. _

_"Damn." She muttered as she turned on the faucet, staining the steel with blood as scalding water shot from the faucet and she began to wash her hands. _

_The door opened and a silent figure sidled up alongside her, grabbing some soap and rubbing his own crimson hands together before placing them by hers beneath the water. His long brown hair—tied back in a loose ponytail—lay against his shoulder, and the tip brushed their hands. _

_"Hyuga-san…" Sakura began, "Did we get sufficient information from him?"_

_"Hai." He nodded, and he gave her a small smile, something so unlike him. He was usually calm and serious. People often said that his younger cousin, Neji, had adopted his demeanor perfectly. But Hyuga Yuudai was a rather sentimental man, if people could see beneath his cold exterior. So far, the only person who had done so besides his mother and sister was the pink-haired woman standing next to him._

_"Hyuga-san, the information was rather…disturbing." Sakura continued. "Do you believe that what he said was true?"_

_"Under the circumstances?" Yuudai grunted. "Judging from his body language, heartbeat, and other signs, I would surmise he was telling the truth as far as he knew it."_

_Sakura nodded. "Then we'll just have to put extra guards on the Cloud-nin and be ready when the Raikage comes for the third part of the Exam."_

_"Sakura-san…?"_

_Sakura blinked, looking up into Yuudai's face. He was handsome, with a strong jaw. His hair had a habit of hanging in front of the left side of his face, hiding one Byakugan eye from view. He had an almost boyish seriousness to him, as if he were a little child trying so hard to be grown up. _

_But he was older than her, had seen more horrors and death and sadness. But some times he grinned at her with that expectant look on his face, like a young child eager to please their parents and make them proud. _

_She knew it was because although he was a Main House member of the Hyuga Clan, he was seen as useless to them as a Hyuga. He had the Byakugan yes, but that was where his bloodline ended. When he had been born, his chakra had been so strong that it had ruptured his chakra passageways, causing them to become unstable. _

_He could not use the gentle fists technique without fear of causing his entire body to burst from chakra overload._

_He was shunned in his own clan, even though his other abilities were phenomenal. He was an amazing interrogator, his taijutsu—though not the famed Hyuga style—was practically flawless. He was a master of the naginata, a strange weapon for a shinobi. But he wielded it with a grace Sakura was envious of. And because summoning jutsu took large bursts of chakra that was not actually controlled, he could use those easily as well, thus the reason for Sakura's cheerful canary._

_If the two of them ever had time off together they would often go train._

_"Yes Hyuga-san?" Sakura finally asked, remembering that he had addressed her. _

_He looked uncomfortable—she was once again reminded of the insecure child she knew was hidden inside of this strong and serious man—and he lifted up a hand and began drying them with the paper towels beside the sink. _

_"I wanted to ask…" He cleared his throat and she saw that his cheeks were tinged with pink. "…would you like to train with me tomorrow? Tomorrow is my day off."_

_"Mine too." Sakura nodded with a small smile. "Of course Hyuga-san. We can train at Team Seven's training grounds—oh!" She suddenly gave a triumphant grin. "You're good with weapons, __Hyuga-san! Would you be able to help Suigetsu with his sword fighting?"  
_

_Yuudai seemed to contemplate it for a moment. "I suppose that would be acceptable, when I have the time."_

_Sakura gave him a peck on the cheek anf flashed him a bright smile—one of those rare ones that he always longed to see on her face—before she dried her own hands. "Thanks Hyuga-san. You're great. My team will meet there around eleven, does that sound good? Before that I have to head to the hospital, so I'll meet you over there. You can train with Suigetsu for a while and then we can train together."_

_"Of course." Yuudai nodded, staring at her rather dazedly."And I'll take the interrogation information to Ibiki-san and Hokage-sama." He instantly regretted his words. The moment he reminded her of the information and their earlier interrogation, the light in her eyes dimmed a bit and she sighed. _

_"Yeah." She murmured, before beginning to walk out the door. "See you tomorrow." She waved back at him without even turning, before walking down the hallway and out of the compound._

Sakura sighed to herself. She didn't want to think about that interrogation anymore than she had to. She was snapped out of her morbid musings, however, at her mother's question.

"Do you want some more rice, honey?"

Sakura shook her head and answered with a terse, "No thank you."

Karin watched her from across the table. She saw the way Mrs. Haruno's eyes glazed over with worry and the way her father frowned, trying to hide his own emotion behind his newspaper. _She wasn't always like this then…_Karin observed.

_She was happy once._

And she saw something else flicker in Sakura's eyes and it surprised her, even as it disappeared so quickly Karin wasn't sure it had been there to begin with.

Jealousy.

Was Sakura jealous that Karin could be so comfortable around her parents—or was it because Sakura's parents were so comfortable around _her_?

But why would Sakura be jealous? She seemed to have the perfect family—something that Karin had always envied anyone. She had a mother and a father, parents that would never go off one day on a mission and never come back. They were a constant, and they weren't hardened by the atrocities of war. They were…innocent—or perhaps naïve was a better word for it.

"So Karin, what do you do for a living? Are you one of the nurses at the hospital?" Mrs. Haruno asked as she began cleaning up the plates.

Karin shook her head. "I'm a shinobi."

The plate slid from Mrs. Haruno's hands and fell to the floor, shattering into tiny pieces. "Oh!" She hurriedly bent down and began sweeping the mess up with the rag she kept tucked into her apron.

Karin bent down hurriedly, seeing the tears filling Mrs. Haruno's eyes.

"What…what's wrong…?" Karin asked worriedly. Had she said something wrong?

And then Sakura stood abruptly, eyes blazing as she pushed the chair across the floor, making it screech as the legs ground into the well polished wood. She bent next to her mother, brushing the ceramic shards out of her hands as she healed the small cuts easily, before cleaning it up herself.

"It's fine mother. Don't worry about it."

"I didn't mean—"

"Don't." Sakura whispered. "Just please…don't."

And suddenly Karin felt uneasy as she looked between the mother and her daughter. There was something there, some hidden pain that Karin hadn't seen before. Something bad had happened between the two of them and it must have had something to do with being a shinobi.

Suddenly Sakura grabbed the rest of the shards into her hand with a growl as she stood, blood dripping to the ground from where the pieces had pierced the skin. "Dammit mother stop _looking_ at me like that!"

And Karin stared, because there were tears gathering in Sakura's eyes. Karin had never seen Sakura cry—hell she had never seen her show any kind of emotion at all, really. "I know I shouldn't have come over, especially not with a friend. I _knew_ you'd do this!" _Why do you think I never come home anymore?_

"Sakura look what it's _done_ to you!" Her mother wailed. "Look what you've become! What happened to my little girl?"

"She's right here!" Sakura yelled back—and Karin took a step backwards and saw that Mr. Haruno was watching the scene wearily, his gaze saddened.

"I am a _kunoichi _mother." Sakura hissed, and her voice trembled. "Don't you dare say anything. We've had this discussion before. I made my own choices."

"You're young Sakura. You don't know what these choices can do to your future! Do you know how many marriage prospects you've ruined because of those missions? Even the shinobi clans that would have wanted you won't anymore! Do you know what I have to deal with every day when I go to the market or out to tea with my friends?"

"I told you that those were my decisions to make. I am not a child!"

"YOU'RE MY CHILD!"

Silence reigned after Mrs. Haruno's outburst, and all that could be heard were her tear filled inhalations and Sakura's own shaky breathing. Karin swallowed.

Then the ceramic shards fell to the ground, painted red from Sakura's blood as she let them fall from lax fingers. Her gaze was lowered, her bangs hiding it from view.

"…I'm sorry I've become such a disgrace to you mother." Was all she said, in the same usual monotone that she always seemed to speak in these days. The cold, callous Sakura that Karin had always known was back.

"Sakura!" Her mother sobbed. "That isn't what I meant, Sakura—"

Sakura turned to Karin, "We'll begin your genjutsu training tomorrow night after our normal combat training at the training grounds. Meet me at my apartment." And with that she walked out of the kitchen. Twenty seconds later the door opened and closed deftly.

Karin swallowed, looking uncomfortable as Mrs. Haruno bent down and began sobbing in earnest while Mr. Haruno put his head in his hands, seeming to lose all strength. Karin merely dismissed herself softly before hurrying out of the house.

As she closed the door behind her she realized that maybe the house and family weren't as perfect as she had first thought.

She felt as if she'd just entered a part of Sakura's secret world, one that not many people had a chance to see. It was disconcerting, and for some reason, Karin even felt a little bit honored to have seen this side of her. Sakura never lost her temper with anyone. To her emotion seemed to be a weakness.

Karin had just seen her when she was weak.

It could be a deadly weapon in her hands, if she chose to wield it as such.

Karin merely shook her head as she began walking back to the compound that she shared with Suigetsu. She needed to sleep. Sleep and think, in that order, because at the moment her mind was too jumbled for her to do anything else.

* * *

Sasuke took a sip of his tea as he ignored the ensuing argument between Naruto and Suigetsu. Kakashi and Sai were talking softly about something, while Sasuke merely continued to look down at his bowl of ramen.

Steam no longer rose from it, and his tea was lukewarm.

He gripped the cup tightly, clenching his teeth together. How dare Sakura tell him not to fight Yasu?

Did she think he was weak?

_I could kill her without breaking a sweat!_ He thought angrily, even as his grip on his cup tightened.

_Or maybe you really _are_ weak, _another voice crooned. _Always the weak one, you'll always be second best to Itachi. I bet if _he_ had fought with Yasu Sakura wouldn't have worried, would she? _He_ could defeat her._

_Shut up!_ He screamed silently, because his brother's voice began creeping into the back of his head, surrounding him.

_"Foolish little brother, you were too weak to kill."_

Sasuke let out a growl as the cup shattered.

Silence ensued, as Naruto, Suigetsu, Kakashi, and, Sai all turned to look at him.

Sasuke merely stood up, wiping his tea covered hands onto his pants as he began walking away. No one stopped him, but then again he hadn't expected them to.

_Why did she care in the first place?_

_What reason could she have to be worried if I died?_

_…or does she care at all? Perhaps she was feigning worry for Naruto's sake?_

And that suddenly made him more furious than the thought of being weak. He growled deep in his throat and looked for something to destroy—but stopped as a figure pushed into him. As he began falling to the ground he grabbed onto the other person for support, pulling them down with him.

He grunted as they slammed into him once they both hit the ground. The air was temporarily knocked out of him and he let out a growl. The person on top of him hurriedly pushed off, rolling onto the ground beside him.

He blinked, seeing a flash of pink.

"…sorry…" The person said softly—and he stared in disbelief. Because sitting on the ground in front of him was Sakura, eyes full of hurt and tear tracks running down her face. She only then seemed to recognize him, for shame and anger flashed across her face as she turned away, as if to hide her tears.

She quickly stood, brushing the dirt from her pants before she took a step backwards, as if waiting for him to stand as well.

He did so, slowly, because his mind was still trying to process the sight of her so lonely and broken. He hadn't seen her like that in years…in fact, the last time he had seen that kind of pain in her eyes was when she had pleaded with him to take her to Sound with him.

"Sakura?"

But she merely shifted uncomfortably, her face once again an emotionless mask, though her eyes still seemed to swirl with emotion. She tilted her head downward a bit, so her bangs would hide her eyes from him.

Sasuke didn't know what to say after that, because all his earlier anger at her seemed to disappear at the sight of her like this.

"Don't." Was all she said, "I don't need pity." And he wondered how she could have possibly believed he pitied her—surely he hadn't looked _sympathetic_ had he? But he really didn't know what sympathy was, and so he wondered if perhaps he had displayed the emotion without knowing it.

"I want to fight you."

Sakura froze, her eyes flickering to him in confusion—they were controlled and calm once again, with only a flicker of pain. "Excuse me?" even her voice was back to its controlled monotone.

"Before the Third Exam. I want to fight you for training." Sasuke explained, his own voice as cold as it usually was.

Sakura snorted. "I don't care what you want, Sasuke. Get Suigetsu to fight with you."

"You will fight me."

"I'm not someone you can order around, Sasuke. Get that through your thick, egotistical skull." Sakura snapped back. "Get Naruto or Kakashi to fight with you, if they have the time."

"Hn."

Sakura gave a frustrated sigh. "I'll find you a sparring partner, alright? But I have more important things to do this month."

Sasuke snorted. "He needs someone who uses a blade."

Sakura nodded. "Thanks. I never would have known, what with the big zanbato he always carries."

Sasuke couldn't help but let the corner of his mouth tip up in a smirk. Sarcastic, bitchy Sakura was strangely better than the pained, desperate Sakura he had seen moments ago.

Sakura merely stuck a hand nonchalantly in her jacket pocket. "I have to go. I'll see what I can do." And then she was walking away, looking just like he expected her to—back straight and gate swift and easy. There was no anger or despair, no pain.

And strangely, a part of him was pleased with this.

But he merely continued home, stuffing his hands into his own pockets as he continued down the road, shoulders slouched.

He wasn't really angry anymore, and no matter how much he tried to manifest that ugly hatred, it would not surface. It stilled, like a calming wind had blown across his mind's turbulent surface, making soft ripples before drifting into a pleasant stillness.

* * *

The next morning began uneventfully for Sakura. She had gone to the hospital early to check on Takumi. She had gotten to the hospital at four in the morning and had been working for three hours so far, writing down different seals and theories she had for regenerating his doujutsu.

Kankuro and the rest of Takumi's team had come in an hour or so earlier. She had broken the news to them slowly. The young girl had cried, and his male teammate had scrunched his face up in an effort not to. Kankuro looked devastated, but accepting.

She had told them she would do whatever she could to make him better again. Kankuro trusted her, and his trust seemed to rub off on the two genin. They nodded, determined, and said they would become Chunin for Takumi and would wait for him to become a Chunin too so they could still be a team.

She was heartened by their loyalty—it made her wonder if her team would have done that for her and she immediately knew that the answer was no.

But she didn't try and dwell on it now, as she opened the door to Juugo's room and walked inside with a calm smile.

He was sitting up on his bed, looking strangely pleased with himself. Sakura raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"What is it?"

"Three days." Juugo smiled. "Not one attack. Not even a twitch."

Sakura laughed softly as she placed a glowing hand to his forehead. "I'm proud of you, Juugo. You're making wonderful progress."

"What do you think I'll do after I'm allowed to leave?" His voice sounded eager, but also apprehensive.

Sakura bit her lip, deep in thought as she searched for the right words. "I do not know. Most likely you will always be put with Sasuke or myself just in case, since the council will still be distrustful. They're a bunch of pruny old bats." She made a face just to see if Juugo would laugh. He did so, because the way she wrinkled up her nose like that was adorable and such a wonderful display of emotion from the usually stoic girl was always welcomed.

Juugo finally stopped laughing, because he saw the coldness in Sakura's eyes, the way her expression had been fake. It saddened him, because she looked like the type of person who had once been so animated, so vibrant.

But it hurt a little, deep down inside, that she faked it now. That she was cold and callous and unfeeling. And he knew, he _knew_ that it was Sasuke's fault she was like this. It twisted up his loyalties. Sasuke had given him a purpose, but Sakura had given him a reason to live. It was different, in his still slightly fucked up mind.

"I think I'd rather be with you." Juugo whispered.

Sakura's touch became more gentle at his words, as her gaze softened. He saw conflicting emotions in her eyes and it hurt him to see her struggling like that. Struggling so hard to keep from trusting him and Karin and Suigetsu and Sasuke.

"You know Sakura-san…sometimes, you don't need to gain people's trust just so you can use it as a weapon against them later on." Juugo's voice was soft as he looked up at her.

She blinked, fingers resting lightly against his temples as she looked down. "Excuse me?"

"Not everyone must be viewed as a potential enemy or traitor." Juugo said softly, his gaze serious and pleading. "I know that you don't trust us but…Karin and Suigetsu haven't had easy lives either. I think perhaps you should try and remember that as well."

Sakura said nothing, but her lips thinned a bit, as if she were biting back a retort.

"Suigetsu was an experiment to Orochimaru, nothing more. Karin…I don't know her story so I could not tell you exactly what has happened to her. I only know that Orochimaru took her in at a very young age, younger than any of the Sound Four when he found them."

Sakura was quiet, her hardened gaze flickering a bit with thoughtfulness.

"I just wanted you to know, Sakura-san…" Juugo continued in that calm, cool, easy voice of his. "I consider you one of my only friends. You have cared for me as no one else has, and you have treated me as a fellow human being, not a monster. Because of that I wish…I wish that it were true, your sincerity, not merely because you wish to make sure we do not betray you."

Sakura's fingers slipped from his temples as she stood in front of him, looking a little guilty and a little angry. But more than that was the world weary, desolate gaze of a hardened warrior who is so tired of pain and death and suffering.

"…I don't want to be left on a bench again." Was all she whispered.

"I know."

* * *

**(A\N: So? The next chapter will contain training…a jealous Sasuke, a smug Hyuga, a thoughtful Karin, an emotionally torn Sakura, and so much more…:D I'm sure some of you have realized who Yasu works for now--but how does her master know Shinju, hm? Exciting isn't it? Her 'master' and his partner will play a bigger role during the Jonin Exams.**

**Anyway, see you all later!**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	21. Chapter 20: Beautiful

**(A\N: I am so sorry that this chapter is so late. But I've been extremely busy. Luckily summer is only three days away! sighs unfortunately the Naruto manga is sucking away my inspiration. Let's hope Kishi pulls it together and gives me a boost. :D Anyway, enjoy!)**

* * *

**Chapter 20**

**Beautiful**

* * *

You can't quit until you try  
You can't live until you die  
You can't learn to tell the truth  
Until you learn to lie

You can't breathe until you choke  
You gotta laugh when you're the joke  
There's nothing like a funeral to make you feel alive

Just open your eyes  
Just open your eyes  
And see that life is beautiful.  
Will you swear on your life,  
That no one will cry at my funeral?

I know some things that you don't  
I've done things that you won't  
There's nothing like a trail of blood  
to find your way back home

I was waiting for my hearse  
What came next was so much worse  
It took a funeral to make me feel alive

Just open your eyes  
Just open your eyes  
And see that life is beautiful.  
Will you swear on your life,  
That no one will cry at my funeral?

Life Is Beautiful lyrics by Sixx A.M.

* * *

Sakura gave a soft sigh as she slumped back in her chair, fingers aching from forcing chakra through them for so long. The boy was sleeping softly on the bed. The bandages around his face had been taken off after Sakura had finished healing and strengthening the skin tissue and his broken nose. He looked peaceful, save for the soft blue bandage wrapped around his eyes, a constant reminder of the horrors he had experienced.

_Don't worry…I'll heal your eyes. I promise! _She thought fervently. She knew it was stupid, so she didn't say it aloud. It wasn't a medic-nin's place to make promises. After all, who knew if she could actually do it?

"S…sensei…?"

Sakura blinked at the sound of Takumi's voice, a gruff, tear-filled whisper.

"It's alright, I am a medic-nin." Sakura murmured, her voice becoming soft and gentle. She reached over and grabbed his hand, running her thumb over the top of it comfortingly. "How are you feeling?"

"…everything is so dark." He whispered, and his voice trembled with fear.

"It's alright Takumi-kun." Sakura repeated. "Everything will be alright."

"Why can't I see?" He asked, his voice rising to a high-pitched whimper.

Her voice caught in her throat as she looked down at the small, trembling boy lying on the bed beside her. He looked so fragile. She was afraid she would break him with her answer.

"Medic-san…please…" The last word came out as a ragged whisper.

Sakura stared down at him for what seemed like forever. She could hear the ticking of the clock on the wall, and the footsteps of nurses as they walked down the corridor outside of the room.

…

…

…

"…you're blind Takumi-kun."

He breathed in sharply, before exhaling. The sound of his breath hissing between his tightly clenched teeth echoed in the room. His face was scrunched up in an effort not to cry. He gripped her hand tightly, as one lone tear slipped from beneath his bandage and down his cheek.

"It's alright." Sakura said again, and she felt foolish. That seemed to be the only thing she could say to him at the moment. And it was such a blatant lie that it hurt.

"I can't be blind!" He finally yelled, voice catching. "I can't! I haven't fulfilled my promise yet! I can't!"

"Takumi—"

"I haven't proven myself!" He shot up, hands clenched around the sheets. "No! I don't believe it! You're _lying_!"

Sakura swallowed, saying nothing.

"I…I can't…" And his body drooped, before he reached up, fingers digging into the ends of the bandage around his eyes as he made to pull it off. "I won't be the weak link!"

"Takumi!" Sakura grabbed his hands. He struggled against her, but she slowly pried his fingers away from the cloth. "Don't! You can't remove that cloth. If you do so your eyes will be damaged irreparably. The nerves aren't healed enough yet to be subjected to light."

"I don't care, I don't care!" Takumi screamed, shaking his head furiously.

"Shhhh…it's alright Takumi-kun." Sakura soothed, trying to keep her voice soft and low. "I need you to calm down. "

"Weak link in the chain breaks it…" Takumi was mumbling to himself, sniffling.

"What…?" Sakura whispered, before she grabbed Takumi's hands, holding them in her own. "Takumi-kun…what's wrong? What are you talking about?"

"Always better. My brother…he was always better than me." Takumi continued, and Sakura wondered if he was talking to her or just talking to himself. "Father always said I was the weak link in the chain. A mistake."

"What?" Sakura asked sharply, hand tightening around his own.

"I've never been good enough!" Takumi yelled. "But I was getting better! I was going to become Chunin and show him. I would become Chunin and Jonin and Anbu and I would—I would make them proud and they wouldn't be angry that I lived and he's _dead_!"

"…Takumi…" Sakura whispered, voice soft and ruff with emotion.

"My brother was always the best." Takumi smiled as if through pain. "He was strong and a great ninja."

_Itachi._

"And everyone loved him. The village loved him and my parents loved him and…and I loved him too…I wanted to be just like him when I grew up. But I was never strong enough, never fast enough, never…never good enough for their acknowledgment…"

_Sasuke._

"He died protecting me...we…our family had gone on a trip to Cloud because my mother's family are merchants and we were going to the big market festival there…we were attacked by some rogue-nin and…and…"

Sakura stared down at the floor.

"And after that my parents always asked me why I didn't just die and let him live!" Takumi yelled, shoulders shaking as he forced himself not to cry. He looked like he was trying so hard to keep the tears at bay.

_Is this how Sasuke always felt? As if he were never good enough for his family? Why are people like that?_ And her eyes flashed with righteous anger. _Why do they crave power so much that they push their children to their limits? _

_…I always wanted to be part of a shinobi family. I always thought that if that happened, I would have been stronger. I would have been more determined and motivated to be a better shinobi…but now…_Sakura laced her fingers through Takumi's and gave a small smile.

_I guess there's pain either way. No matter what happens, there's always something bad that goes with it. My parents don't understand what it's like to be shinobi and I always resented them for it…but…what would they have been like if they WERE ninja?_

_What would_ I _have been like?_

"Don't worry Takumi-kun." Sakura whispered, sending soothing chakra through her fingertips and into his hand. His taut muscles began relaxing at the ministrations. "I'm going to fix your eyes."

_Liar. _But it was a good lie.

"C-can you?" He asked, and the hope that filled his voice made Sakura's heart ache. She swore then, that no matter what, she would heal this child's sight. She would make him see, no matter what the cost.

"I will bring back your sight." Was her only answer, her voice echoing with determination.

And that was when Takumi began sniffling, shoulders shaking as he tried to stop himself from crying.

"It's alright, Takumi-kun. You can cry if you want. I won't tell anyone." Sakura whispered. He launched himself towards her and she gathered him into her arms. He sobbed against her shoulder and she petted his hair, murmuring soothing words.

Her own voice was shaky, as she thought of the cruelty of it all. This child had gone through so much, had experienced so much pain…

_He's just like Sasuke._

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that some people had to experience these things and turn out broken and ruined because of it. She wouldn't let it happen to Takumi. She would die before that happened.

"I promise you, Takumi…I promise you that no matter what, you will become a shinobi worthy of respect."

He continued to cry, his fingers digging into the back of her doctor's coat.

Sakura imagined holding a crying, young Sasuke in her arms. What would have happened if she had been there to stop the massacre? What if she could have saved him? Why did young children have to suffer? It was never their fault. They had never asked for any of this.

"…it's ok, Medic-san. You can cry too." Takumi's voice was a muffled whisper against her coat. "…I promise I won't tell anyone."

She merely held him tighter, arms encircling the young, slender boy. Her eyes were wide with surprise as his words, spoken with such tender sincerity, rang in her head.

No one had ever told her it was ok to cry. No one had ever encouraged her to be anything great. She had been shot down on all sides. She had always been the underdog. She had always been the one that no one betted on, that everyone thought would fail. And it hurt, it hurt so badly. She was tired of being strong and pretending that it didn't.

Two tears fell down her cheeks as she let out a ragged breath, "Ok."

And she cried.

* * *

Karin really didn't know what prompted her to go to the Haruno residence the next morning. She hardly even realized she had gone in that direction until she was standing in front of the door to their home.

_Calm down, Karin, _she thought irritably, trying to swallow her nervousness. _You're just here for some answers. That's it…just _answers_. It's not like you care about Sakura or anything! You just want to make sure you know everything about her. It's a normal shinobi instinct!  
_

Or at least that's what she told herself as she knocked rather timidly. There was silence after her knock, before she heard soft footsteps. She contemplated running away but decided against it as the door opened up a crack and she found herself face to face with Mr. Haruno.

"Er. Hi Mr. Haruno." Karin greeted, feeling stupid. He looked ragged and worn, older than he had the last time she'd seen him.

"She isn't home." He murmured, and his cultured voice was weary.

Karin shook her head. "I know. She's at the hospital." Karin smiled a bit shyly. "I just wanted…um…can I ask you some questions?"

He nodded slowly, opening the door enough for her to get inside.

"Alright."

* * *

"You're startled by my voice, correct?" he asked, with a small smile from over the rim of his coffee cup.

Karin blinked, then blushed a bit. "I well…uh…" She held her own mug in her hands, looking down at the dark liquid so she didn't have to make eye contact. They were sitting in the living room: Sakura's father in a chair and Karin sitting on the edge of an extremely comfy sofa that made her want to lay down and take a nap. They'd been sitting in uncomfortable silence for the past three minutes--not like she was counting or anything.

"It's a Haruno trait. Long ago we were shinobi." Mr. Haruno explained calmly. "The trait had something to do with voices and genjutsu. Sakura doesn't have it; it's so watered down now. I have a little bit of it. I'm sorry if it affected you in some way. All of Sakura's female friends seem to be um…attracted to it." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking a bit embarrassed.

Karin felt extremely relieved with that fact. So…a trait of the Haruno Clan? She wondered what that jutsu would have been like in its full power, when the Haruno's had once been shinobi. It sounded like a Sound kind of technique, one Orochimaru would have loved.

A person who could cast genjutsu with their voice…wouldn't that be amazing? It was a type of genjutsu that she couldn't get out of either, because even now she felt herself thinking about how handsome he seemed, even as she was a little disgusted with herself, screaming on the inside that what she was feeling was _wrong_.

"…that wasn't the only thing I wanted to ask you though…" Karin fidgeted in her seat. "Sakura…when she was talking to Mrs. Haruno…what was she talking about?"

Sakura's father blinked, looking a bit confused at the question. "You never knew?"

"Knew what?'

"I thought…you're a kunoichi too. It would only make sense that you'd gone on those types of missions as well—I mean, you don't seem like Sakura's other friends, the ones who haven't."

"What do you mean?" Karin asked, confused.

"Seduction missions."

Karin paled, staring at him in openmouthed surprise. "You mean…she…she's…with…and…?" She stared down at her hands.

"Yes." Mr. Haruno sighed, shoulders slouching. "You're probably wondering why I didn't say anything at dinner last night, right? It's just…it's an ongoing fight between Sakura and my wife. My wife can't grasp the concept of sacrificing everything for her village. She's from a civilian family. They don't have any shinobi blood in them."

"So because of your shinobi blood you understand?" Karin's voice was almost snippy. "You understand that she's been raped every time she goes on a mission and you just _sat_ there—"

"I'm a psychiatrist." Mr. Haruno croaked out, and Karin didn't know if he was trying to defend himself or just give an explanation. "When Sakura came home from her first seduction mission…she changed…I tried to get her to open up, to talk, but it was as if our little Sakura had died and we'd been left with this…emotionless doll…"

"I'm sorry…" Karin murmured.

Mr. Haruno shook his head. "Don't…Sakura…she doesn't want pity. She wants to feel useful, it's all she's ever wanted, to be needed. It's her purpose. She was never good enough when she was younger, no one wanted her. She's trying to make up for it now by doing everything she can, by sacrificing everything for her village. And I suppose…I guess I realized that her mind is set on that and my daughter is, if nothing else, extremely determined and stubborn. There would be nothing I could do to stop her. I need to support her, no matter how hard it is. But I…" And he was crying, tears running down his cheeks.

"…I can't do it and I am _so_ _ashamed_."

Karin quietly excused herself, not knowing what to do. Her coffee cup was placed on the table before the sobbing man and she opened the door and slipped out quickly, fingers trembling.

_So she's…_Karin's hands clenched as she leaned against the closed door of the Haruno household.

_…just like me…_

"This is stupid." Suigetsu muttered as he and Sasuke walked into the large clearing. To Sasuke the scene held an air of nostalgia. This was team seven's old training grounds. The three poles stood at one end, and Sasuke could almost envision Naruto being tied to one as he and Sakura lifted up their lunches to feed him.

"Hn."

"I mean, Sakura isn't going to be here till later so I don't see why we're here. Besides, I just have to fight some weak guy from Sand. It'll be easy."

"Well you never know who you'll have to fight _after_ that do you?" Karin snapped as she walked into the clearing. If she noticed Sasuke's and Suigetsu's questioning gazes for her abrupt appearance she ignored it.

"Whadya mean?"

"It's like a tournament." Karin supplied, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Her gaze seemed more thoughtful today than Suigetsu had ever seen before. She wasn't quite as arrogant with her explanation this time like she usually was. "After the first round, the winners of that round advance to the next stage, where they fight each other."

"So you mean I might get to fight Sasuke?" Suigetsu gave a feral grin as he peered over at the Uchiha who had sat himself down by the three poles, leaning against one of them.

"You'd lose." Karin snorted, "So I don't see why you're so excited about it."

Suigetsu gave a noncommittal grunt and shifted his sword on his shoulder. "Whatever." Karin snickered, before siding up to Sasuke, smiling sweetly.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun…" She purred. "How are you today? Were you worried when I didn't show up on time?"

"Hn."

Karin wilted a bit, pouting at his lack of response, but merely turned to give a glare to Suigetsu, who was snickering at her.

"Where were you by the way?" Suigetsu finally asked, after Karin had sat herself down beside Sasuke and began stretching. She knew she had to train hard over the course of the next month and she was going to make sure she was ready.

"At Sakura's house."

Silence.

"What?" Karin snapped as the two males shot her disbelieving looks—although Sasuke's was shielded with indifference.

"Can't I socialize with a fellow kunoichi?"

"Now when you've practically singled her out as your mortal enemy." Suigetsu answered back.

Karin huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well for your information we're _not_ enemies. In fact, we're come to a mutual agreement. And I would appreciate it if you stopped acting like I'm such a bitch, Suigetsu."

Suigestu opened his mouth to say something that was probably insulting, but it was at this time that three people entered the clearing. Two of them all three members of hebi recognized: Sakura, and Sai. The other was a pale-eyed man with long brown hair.

_He's gorgeous…_Karin almost gave a dreamy sigh. But she then noticed Sakura's face. She looked tired, and there were circles under her eyes. But other than that, she seemed more at peace than Karin had ever seen her. It was as if a smile was constantly tugging at the corners of her lips, making her look less foreboding and frigid. And when her eyes went to Sasuke, they became thoughtful, instead of the usual hate-filled glance that Karin was used to.

Karin's own eyes narrowed. _I said we were mutual aquaintences, but we're also rivals, Sakura. I won't let you take my Sasuke-kun, not without a fight!_ So she merely huffed and shot Sakura a small glare, even though it was half-hearted.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he saw the pale-eyed Hyuga.

_So…Hyuga-san…_he gave a derisive snort as he looked the man over. He wasn't exceptionally handsome. He held the same grace and almost feminine beauty that all Hyuga seemed to possess, but there was nothing exceptional about him.

Or so he kept telling himself.

_Is that his hand on Sakura's shoulder?_

"Good morning." Sakura murmured, eyeing her three 'students'. Karin was pouting, Suigetsu was grinning, and Sasuke was glaring at everything and nothing at the same time. "I take it you all slept well?"

"Hn."

"Yeah."

"I guess."

"They're certainly cheerful in the morning." Sai observed, his ever-present fake smile plastered on his face.

"Why are you here anyway?" Karin finally asked, her question pointed at Sai—because she didn't want to sound rude to the beautiful brunette beside him.

"We're here to help you train." The Hyuga spoke. "Haruno-san kindly asked if Sai and myself could do so when she is unavailable."

"Oh wow!" Karin giggled. "Oh of course, we should probably get started right away—"

"Suigetsu, you'll be working with Hyuga Yuudai-san." Sakura spoke, completely ignoring Karin's comment—which made the redhead begin to fume—"He is a master of weapons. You can learn a lot from him."

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow at the lithe Hyuga standing before him with a naginata strapped to his back. "He looks fragile. I might break him Sakura-sensei." He gave Sakura a teasing grin at the end of his proclamation.

Sakura snorted, before turning to Karin. "I will be teaching you, as we decided earlier. We'll be heading to a more enclosed clearing for our training."

Karin nodded, realizing that if she wanted to be taught the genjutsu she needed she would have to cooperate.

Sasuke blinked a few times—dragging his burning gaze from the Hyuga—and looked at Sai. Realization seemed to dawn on him as his eyes narrowed to slits.

"No."

"No what?" Sakura drawled lazily, giving Sasuke an annoyed look from beneath her lashes.

"I will not train with him." Came Sasuke's cold reply, his gaze resting on the dark-haired, dark-eyed replacement of Team 7.

He saw the other boy's eyes narrowed a bit, but a sickeningly sweet smile was on his face as he tilted his head to the side. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."

Sakura sighed as she saw Sasuke's jaw tighten as he gritted his teeth together. He seemed to be trying his hardest not to snarl. _Boys and their male pride…it's pathetic, _she thought with a shake of her head.

"Alright." Sakura spoke up once more, seeing that nothing constructive was going to happen unless she started things off. "Karin and I are going to head to another clearing. Sai, you and Sasuke stay on that end while Hyuga-san and Suigetsu practice over here." She pointed to the other side of team seven's training grounds. "We'll meet back up in four hours to do some group training."

"Got it, _sensei_!" Suigetsu teased, giving her a mocking salute.

Sakura rolled her eyes, while Suigetsu dodged discreet and almost nonexistent glares from Sasuke and Yuudai. Karin merely tapped her foot on the ground, stirring up dust. "Are we going yet?"

Sakura nodded, and she and Karin disappeared into the trees.

There was a moment of silence as the four remaining males all looked one another over, as if assessing each other for signs of a threat.

"Let's begin, Suigetsu-san." Yuudai finally murmured, grabbing his naginata and twirling it with his fingers before getting into a fighting crouch.

Suigetsu grinned, swinging his sword off of his shoulder. "Sounds good to me."

"How do you know her?"

Yuudai slowly stood from his crouch at Sasuke's question. His gaze, stoic and emotionless, was a mirror image of Sasuke's. "What importance does the answer hold to you?"

"How do you know her?"

"We work together."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and he saw a flicker of amusement pass through Yuudai's eyes at the reaction. "Hn."

"Does the thought of Haruno-san working with me displease you so greatly, Uchiha?" Yuudai drawled. "Do you feel the same annoyance for Naruto-san or Sai-san? Or am I merely an interesting exception?"

"Sai, yes. The dobe? No." Sasuke answered back, his voice cold.

Sai's smile merely grew a bit, and his eyes flashed with amusement at the scene. "I don't think he likes us because _Sakura_ likes us, Yuudai-san." Sai waited to see Sasuke's reaction. He admitted that he found a cruel enjoyment in making the Uchiha uncomfortable. It was so hard to get a rise out of the emotional man after all.

A grunt was Sasuke's only answer, before he got into his own fighting crouch. Sai realized that Sasuke wasn't going to talk anymore, so he pulled out his scroll, his ink brush in hand. "We'll begin with a simple exercise. You can't use anything but taijutsu. Just…try and dodge them."

Then he activated his technique.

* * *

**(A\N: So? There will be more insight into Sasuke's thoughts at the moment in the next chapter, as well as Sakura's and Karin's. They'l be having an interesting conversation. So yeah...that's about it for now. I hope to get the next chapter out soon but I can't make any promises. :) I hope you enjoy it!**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	22. Chapter 21: I Get What I Want

**(A\N: I'm sorry this chaper is late. It's extra long to make up for it. :D And there's a SasuSaku scene. Strangely enough, while I am not a fan of Karin, I realize she isn't THAT bad of a character...and so as you probably know, I'm trying to deviate away from the 'Karin is an evil weak bitch' theme that is so common with SasuSaku fics these days. :D Enjoy!)**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

**I Get What I Want**

* * *

It's getting so lonely inside this bed  
Don't know if I should lick my wounds or say woe is me instead  
And there's an aching inside my head  
It's telling me I'm better off alone  
But after midnight morning will come  
And the day will see if you will get some

They say that girl ya know she act too tough tough tough  
Well it's till' I turn off the light, turn off the light  
They say that girl you know she act so rough rough rough  
Well it's till' I turn off the light, turn off the light  
And I say follow me follow me follow me down down down down  
till' you see all my dreams  
Not everything in this magical world is quite what it seems

I looked above the other day  
Cuz I think I'm good and ready for a change  
I live my life by the moon  
If it's high play it low, if it's harvest go slow and if it's full, then go  
But after midnight morning will come  
And the day will see if you're gonna get some

They say that girl ya know she act too tough tough tough  
Well it's till' I turn off the light, turn off the light  
They say that girl you know she act so rough rough rough  
Well it's till' I turn off the light, turn off the light  
And I say follow me follow me follow me down down down down  
till' you see all my dreams  
Not everything in this magical world is quite what it seems

I'm searching for things that I just cannot see  
Why don't you don't you don't you come and be with me  
I pretend to be cool with me, want to believe  
That I can do it on my own without my heart on my sleeve  
I'm running, I'm running, catch up with me life  
Where is the love that I'm looking to find  
It's all in me, can't you see, I can see, why can't you see it's all in me

They say that girl ya know she act too tough tough tough  
Well it's till' I turn off the light, turn off the light  
They say that girl you know she act so rough rough rough  
Well it's till' I turn off the light, turn off the light  
And I say follow me follow me follow me down down down down  
till' you see all my dreams  
Not everything in this magical world is quite what it seems

Where is your logic  
Who do you need  


Where can you turn in your delicate time of need  
Follow me down, follow me down down down,  
I do not need I do not need nobody  
Where is your logic  
Who do you need  
Where can you turn in your delicate time of need

Turn Off the Light: Nelly Furtado

* * *

_Dammit, _Sasuke cursed silently as he flipped in the air, landing nimbly on the balls of his feet in a battle crouch. He hadn't thought Sai would be such an annoying opponent. The last time he had fought him it hadn't been this hard. He'd actually gone down pretty quick.

But perhaps his 'replacement' on Team 7 was more like him than he wanted to admit.

_He's still going to lose. He's too weak to defeat me, _Sasuke inwardly sneered, eyes narrowed in satisfaction as he looked over the numerous cuts along Sai's arms and legs, as well as the burn and tear marks all over his black outfit.

The sharp pain in Sasuke's side every time he breathed in reminded him that one of the three ribs Sai had broken had punctured his lung. He supposed Sai wasn't as weak as he'd originally thought, no matter how hard it was to admit such a thing.

But he was still just the Replacement. He meant nothing to anyone, other than as a clone of the Uchiha. Or at least, that's what Sasuke had taunted him with as they sparred. It was annoying to not get a rise out of the other shinobi. Sai seemed to be better at controlling his emotions than anyone else—or maybe it was his lack of the aforementioned emotions that led him to be so good at hiding his feelings.

Whatever it was, it was pissing Sasuke off. That, and the fact that as he looked over at Suigetsu and the Hyuga he could see that Suigetsu was breathing heavily and sweating profusely. The Hyuga—Yuudai was his name—didn't seem out of breath at all, though his clothes were damp with sweat. The sun was merciless and scorching, beating down on them relentlessly. Suigetsu was making Team Hebi look foolish compared to the Konoha-nin.

Suigetsu gave a groan as he called a break and slumped to the ground, taking a large gulp from his water bottle. "Man…" He moaned out. "This heat sucks."

"You're very well-learned with your blade." Yuudai commented, sitting down as well and pulling out his own water bottle. He, however, did not gulp it. He merely took a few sips. "But if you wish to be good enough to defeat Hoshigaki Kisame then you will need to be better than you are now."

Suigetsu grunted, leering at the other man. "How did you know I wanted to kill Kisame?"

"It's the only reason you joined Hebi in the first place. Or at least, that's what your file states." Yuudai commented back tonelessly.

"Che." Suigetsu muttered. "Where do you guys get these damn files anyway? It's annoying how much you know about us." He merely sighed, before grabbing his shirt and throwing it off. "It's too hot for that thing."

"Put your shirt back on." Sasuke ordered.

"Make me." Suigetsu muttered under his breath, but merely rolled his eyes as his outward show of his 'respect' for the Uchiha's orders.

Sasuke merely sighed softly in annoyance at Suigetsu's immaturity.

"Ya know, you guys could take your shirts off too." Suigetsu finally spoke. "Except that Sai guy. He's too pale. He'd turn into a lobster in five minutes."

Sai merely regarded the light blue-haired man coolly. "Are you gay?"

"WHAT!?" Suigetsu spit out the mouthful of water he'd been gulping.

"You want us to take our shirts off. Doesn't that mean you find the male physique attractive?" Sai questioned.

"No!" Suigetsu was waving his hands around frantically now, shaking his head furiously. "I do _not_ like guys!"

Sai merely smiled. "Don't try anything with Naruto, he doesn't have a dick, so having sex would be difficult, unless he was the uke."

"Oh my _god_!" Suigetsu groaned. "That is disgusting! Stop it!"

Yuudai and Sasuke gave a collective sigh, before shooting each other small glares at the fact that the other had sighed at the same time.

"Come on! If I was gay I wouldn't want to fuck Sakura, now would I?" Suigetsu finally threw out after a few more of Sai's relentless taunts.

Silence.

Suigetsu swallowed, because he felt three glares boring holes into him. "Er I didn't…um…" _Oh shit…_

"Don't talk about Sakura like that." Sai was still smiling, but this smile promised painful retribution if Suigetsu continued with his train of thought. Sakura was one of his closest friends and he had to admit, he'd become slightly overprotective of her during their time together.

"Sakura-san is not some whore that you can talk about so openly and disgracefully." Yuudai snapped, eyes narrowed.

Sasuke said nothing, merely decided that he would think of some way to murder Suigetsu later without anyone noticing.

"Look I didn't mean it like that…" Suigetsu decided he'd try and salvage some of his reputation. "I just meant that I think she's hot. I mean, come on, who wouldn't want to tap that? We already know that Sasuke does." _Might as well point the finger at someone else._

Sai and Yuudai both turned to Sasuke, whose face was indifferent.

"Hn."

"It's no matter." Yuudai commented. "I don't think that you need to worry about the Uchiha as competition…Sakura-san does not take kindly to _traitors_."

"I suppose you keep thinking that so you'll believe you have a chance, ne?"

Everyone blinked, turning to where Sasuke had slowly stood, a small sneer curling his lips. He cocked his head to the side, giving Yuudai a level glare. "What's wrong, Hyuga? Jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous of a former missing-nin?" Yuudai shot back, though he stood as well.

Sai smiled softly to himself, looking from the Hyuga to the Uchiha as they continued to give each other biting insults. He'd known that Yuudai was very attached to Sakura, but he hadn't been too sure about the depth of Sasuke's feelings towards her. But after Sakura had left later that night when they'd been eating ramen and she's warned Sasuke about Yasu, Sai had seen the way Sasuke had brooded, almost pouting. He'd been mad because Sakura hadn't thought he was strong enough to defeat her. But he'd also been slightly smug that she'd worried enough to warn him.

Sai's eyes merely narrowed. _I still can't believe this is the person Naruto-kun and Sakura-san wanted to save…he's…_

"Pathetic." Yuudai muttered to the Uchiha, after they'd exchanged several scathing verbal blows.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, unsheathing his sword. "Perhaps we should see just which one of us is the pathetic one, Hyuga."

"Are you prepared to be defeated so easily then, Uchiha? I had thought you'd want to hold onto that miniscule amount of pride and honor you still possessed." Yuudai answered back, before he twirled his naginata around, crouching. "But very well. This seems a simple enough way to settle our…differences."

Sasuke merely smirked, his Sharingan swirling in his eyes, even as he saw the Byakugan in Yuudai's own eyes activate.

_I'll show you pathetic. When I'm finished even Sakura won't be able to heal you._ He didn't care how immature it sounded, strangely. He took smug satisfaction in wanting to kill the man so close to her. It wasn't that he _liked_ Sakura but she was _his_ teammate…and a worthy medic for his plans later on. He couldn't have her distracted by anyone else, not if he were to have her heal him after he killed Itachi.

_She will need to stay focused on me and me alone. There is no room for any other. _He thought as he jumped to the side, barely missing the wide arc of Yuudai's naginata.

He wouldn't admit that a little part of him hated it when any other male got near her besides his sensei and the dobe. He had never felt that burning deep in his gut before, save for when his father had prided Itachi on his success and never once praised his younger son for his own accomplishments.

Jealousy, though he would never admit it.

Long ago he had thought he'd severed all ties with his old teammates. But seeing Sakura so…haunted the night before had made him realize that perhaps he was still attached to team 7. Begrudgingly he realized that by pushing them aside he would be doing just what his brother wanted. And he would be _damned_ before he gave Itachi the satisfaction of controlling his life like that.

Sasuke didn't seem to realize that by being consumed with his idea of revenge against his older brother he was doing exactly that. Everything revolved around Itachi, whether Sasuke wanted to admit that or not.

Sasuke slammed his sword forward, and Yuudai blocked it with his own weapon, before lashing out with a kick. Sasuke flipped backwards, putting up his sword just in time to parry Yuudai's blade.

Besides, if he thought about it…he felt a strange satisfaction from the idea that he would have Sakura and no one else would. Was that why he had been so angry when he'd learned of her seduction missions? He had always assumed that after killing his brother he would come back to Konoha and rebuild the Uchiha clan with Sakura. He had always thought she'd be waiting for him, as innocent and untouched as she'd always been.

Reality was a bitch.

But she was strong now, and strength had always enticed and interested him. He was drawn to strength and power and skill, and so he was inevitably drawn to the pink-haired powerhouse who he had once thought was a weakling.

And when an Uchiha wanted something, they took it. And Uchihas were known to be unrelentingly selfish of their possessions.

She would be his, whether she wanted it or not. And the _Hyuga_ and any other male who thought otherwise would soon see the error of their ways.

* * *

The clearing was silent as Sakura sat herself down on the grass and waited for Karin to do the same. She did so slowly, her gaze unfocused, as if her mind was somewhere else.

"Karin, genjutsu takes the upmost concentration. You will need to stay focused for what I am going to teach you." Sakura murmured in her usual toneless voice. "If you do not then the genjutsu could backfire and have disastrous effects."

"Huh—oh, yeah!" Karin nodded, blushing a bit at being caught. "I was just um, thinking."

Sakura nodded, peering at her closely. "I see." She didn't try and broach the subject—she herself didn't like people prying, so she supposed she should respect Karin's privacy as well.

Karin herself was a little disgruntled that Sakura _hadn't_ asked. It would have been easier to speak then, if she was being forced to answer Sakura's questions. Instead she closed her eyes with a small sigh, trying to muster up her courage, even as she tried to drain out all other conscious thought from her mind. Genjutsu took complete focus, and she couldn't have her mind wandering, like Sakura had said.

It would just be easier to get it all out now then, so they could actually do something constructive later on. If Karin didn't get it off of her chest she guessed that she wouldn't be able to concentrate at all during the lesson.

"I went and spoke with your dad this morning."

"I wanted to ask your opinion on Yasu's chakra signature."

Both girls blinked after speaking in unison. There was a moment of silence, as Sakura looked down and Karin coughed, rubbing the back of her neck.

"I see." Sakura murmured, pulling out a few blades of grass and rubbing them between her fingers. "What did you talk about?"

"You."

Sakura snorted. "I figured _that_ much."

Karin huffed at Sakura's tone, but continued anyway. "He said…he said that you used to be a lot different…until you went on your seduction missions."

Sakura stiffened as Karin's voice faded into silence. A bird trilled softly in the background, and the wind blew, rustling the leaves and throwing their hair into their faces. Neither girl moved, however.

"So…you know…"

"I had always thought that having a normal civilian family would be the best." Karin whispered. "But I guess…even not knowing my parents would be better than having parents who can't understand what I've done and why I did it."

Sakura shrugged, trying to play it all off as no big deal.

Karin merely continued, not allowing Sakura to change the subject or brush it off. "I just wanted you to know that I…" She swallowed, because this part was the hardest to say, especially to this girl whom she had once thought of as her sworn enemy. "…I understand…if that helps at all."

Sakura blinked a few times, staring in surprise at the redhead sitting on the ground in front of her. _Karin…_she was trying to…_comfort_ her? The shinobi part of Sakura was on red-alert, trying to find the hint of mockery in Karin's voice and trying to gauge whether she was lying or not.

_She's trying to gain your trust!_

_No, she's…she's telling me the truth._

_Don't be naïve!_

"In Sound after…after Orochimaru took me back to his base, I was trained in the art of seduction at a young age. I guess…I guess I thought that all kunoichi did that and were trained to do so from the moment they started the academy." Karin murmured, not meeting Sakura's eyes.

"No." Sakura amended. "There are special courses that you take once you become a Chunin, if your are deemed…eligible for the position."

"Oh."

"Karin…why are you telling me this?" Sakura finally whispered, and there was a hint of something besides monotone in her voice.

Karin looked up at her with an awkward smile that was almost a frown—because she was trying her hardest not to cry, as she thought of the searching hands and alcohol-stained breath that flooded her mind at the mention of seduction missions. Those had been the worst, worse than her first kill or any after that.

"I guess…" And with this Karin tilted her head to the side, closing her eyes and smiling as she tried to stop the tears that were burning beneath her eyelids. "I just wanted you to know that you're not alone. We're a team…right…? I heard…that's what teammates do for one another. I've never been on a team before, except Hebi, and in Konoha I heard that teams were really close. They share everything with one another." She fidgeted, once again embarrassed at speaking so truthfully to the other girl. But for some reason, Sakura had this air about her that made Karin just want to tell her everything. It was like…like she knew she would listen and be there to comfort her in the end.

Or maybe that's what the old Sakura would have done.

"With Hebi we were never a real team but…I think that maybe I can be a team with you, ya know? I've never had a female teammate and it's…nice. I just thought…"

And then a hand was placed on her shoulder and she looked up. Sakura's face was emotionless, but her eyes were softened and sympathetic as she nodded.

"Thank you, Karin."

Karin nodded, blushing once again before looking down at the ground.

"You know." Sakura continued tonelessly. "I assumed you were going to throw it in my face that I was a whore and Sasuke would never want me."

"Well he'll still pick me over you!" Karin muttered hotly, and she saw the corner of Sakura's mouth twitch as if she wanted to smile—which caused Karin to give her own giggle, before she stuck out her hand.

Sakura stared at the hand offered her in confusion, emotionless running rampant. Should she take the hand? _It will make her trust you, she'll be easier to manipulate after that!_

_I don't want to manipulate her…_a small voice in the back of her mind whispered. _I'm tired of manipulating and lying._

_It's all a lie. She's lying too._

_No. She isn't._

_Decide now then. Choose your side. Choose your fate. Whatever you do, you'll only end up being hurt in the end. That's what always happens. If you trust you'll only be betrayed._

And she remembered Juugo's words from before.

**_You know Sakura-san…sometimes, you don't need to gain people's trust just so you can use it as a weapon against them later on." Juugo's voice was soft as he looked up at her._**

**_She blinked, fingers resting lightly against his temples as she looked down. "Excuse me?"_**

**_"Not everyone must be viewed as a potential enemy or traitor." Juugo said softly, his gaze serious and pleading. "I know that you don't trust us but…Karin and Suigetsu haven't had easy lives either. I think perhaps you should try and remember that as well."_**

But what could she do? She wouldn't ever admit it, but she was a little afraid.

_**"I just wanted you to know, Sakura-san…" Juugo continued in that calm, cool, easy voice of his. "I consider you one of my only friends. You have cared for me as no one else has, and you have treated me as a fellow human being, not a monster. Because of that I wish…I wish that it were true, your sincerity, not merely because you wish to make sure we do not betray you."**_

_…I've always been stubborn, _Sakura thought wryly, reaching out her hand. _Maybe I just don't know how to stop trusting, no matter how much I try and pretend otherwise._

"Truce?" Karin asked timidly, still holding out her hand.

Sakura reached out fully and grabbed it, giving Karin's hand a strong squeeze. She gave a small smile—a true one that Karin thought was rather beautiful, even if it was a little awkward and a shadow of what was probably once a breathtaking grin—and spoke.

"Teammates."

Karin grinned.

They both let go at the same time, and settled themselves back down upon the grass. There was silence once more, but this one was comfortable and filled with something that Sakura hadn't ever thought to feel again—happiness. Who would have thought that Karin, of all people, would be the one to make her feel that certain emotion again?

"Now then, let's go back to what I said earlier." Sakura continued, her voice still the same monotone. Karin supposed she couldn't ask for a miracle. "What did Yasu's chakra signature feel like to you?"

Karin bit her lip as she tried to think of a way to describe it to Sakura. It was always difficult to describe her chakra senses to others. "I…well I usually see them as colors." Karin finally began. "Each person has a different color and shade of chakra, and their chakra flow pattern is always different too. No two people have the same. Yasu's was…black…and it was jagged, like a serrated knife, but tightly bound."

Sakura nodded, not fully comprehending, but trying to glean any information from it that she could. "And what does that mean to you?"

"Her chakra is dangerous. Jagged chakra patterns mean they are powerful, because instead of a straight line their chakra dances back and forth because there is too much of it for it to flow regularly. It's tightly bound, once again showing that it is extremely compacted, and that her control over chakra is good, almost as good as yours, probably my level of chakra control." Karin continued.

Sakura nodded. "What type of element does she favor?"

"I don't know…it's…it's not really an element so much as a style. Her chakra reminds me of strings."

_Strings?_ Sakura merely rolled her shoulders to loosen the muscles in her back and the tenseness in her neck. "Alright…can you tell if she has a kekkei genkai?"

"Of course." Karin scoffed, insulted that Sakura would think so little of her gift. Sakura merely raised an eyebrow in question at Karin's affronted gasp. "She has a kekkei genkai that revolves around her eyes—a doujutsu."

Sakura nodded, "I guessed as much…" She stood, beginning to pace as she tried to think of any strategies. "Are there any places where her chakra signature is weaker or less compacted?"

"I'm not a Hyuga." Karin taunted. "I can't _see_ her chakra. I just feel it and get images in my head from my feelings."

Sakura sighed. "Very well…what about Keiichi? He's your opponent isn't he?"

"He uses mostly water style, though his chakra is less refined, which is why I'm guessing he's a taijutsu user. Their chakra passageways are less dense and smooth, since they don't use their chakra enough to refine it."

Sakura sat back down. "Very well, we had best begin working on some genjutsu then. Up to what level of genjutsu do you think his owl summoning can sense?"

"A-rank, most likely. I think his owl is made specifically for that purpose because it is his weakness." Karin answered back.

Sakura raked her fingers through her hair, eyes narrowed in thought. "I see…Karin, we're going to have to begin with a few b-rank, when you've mastered them we'll move on to a-rank, and then I will teach you one of my own genjutsu that is s-rank."

"S-rank!?" Karin sputtered.

Sakura nodded. "I _was_ the genjutsu specialist of Team 7." She merely sat back down, getting into a meditative position.

"Let's begin."

Saying you were going to start concentrating and _actually_ doing so were two different things, however, and Karin could only groan in frustration. She was starting to get a headache from all the mental stress. How could Sakura do it?

It was all in Sakura's chakra, which was what Karin began thinking about even when she was supposed to be emptying her mind of everything as Sakura had instructed.

Sakura's chakra was an amazing thing, Karin would admit begrudgingly enough. Sakura's chakra came in waves, rather than jagged edges. Her chakra amount was nothing compared to Yasu's or Sasuke's--even Suigetsu had more chakra than she did. But it was still a significant amount. And it was constructed so intricately, in a way that Karin had never seen before. It was like silk: long, thin tendrils that look extremely fragile. These tendrils were strong like steel; however, and they often bound together to form tight links. The soft silk was the part that told her of Sakura's genjutsu strengths—subtle and seemingly the least powerful of the three jutsu styles. But the way the strands wove together showed Karin that Sakura could also become a seal expert, most genjutsu users were also seal masters. Her ninjutsu wasn't as strong as her other skills, but that didn't matter. But there was something else that Karin couldn't quite understand about Sakura's chakra. It was strongest surrounding her throat, in a way that Karin had never seen before.

Karin's eyes shot open, mediation forgotten.

"You have it."

"Have what?" Sakura asked calmly, opening one eye, looking somewhat annoyed at Karin's interruption—she was _supposed_ to be concentrating on the genjutsu Sakura had just taught her.

"The Haruno kekkei genkai. The one that deals with focusing genjutsu through your voice."

Karin saw Sakura's eyes widen slightly, before she merely looked away. "Your chakra sensing abilities are more vast than I had originally thought."

Karin smiled—proud of the admission. She would have gloated on it, if she hadn't been equally excited merely by her discovery. "You're not denying it, right? That means you know you have it, right?"

Sakura merely pinned her with a cool glare, before opening her mouth to speak. What she was going to say was never heard, however, as a hawk shrieked and Sakura looked up, holding up her hand by instinct.

The hawk landed on her outstretched arm, careful not to dig its long talons into the exposed skin.

"A messenger hawk?" Karin asked.

Sakura merely grabbed the scroll it held and unraveled it, eyes trailing the message quickly. As soon as she was finished she placed chakra into her finger and made the sign for fire on the scroll's back. It quickly disintegrated to ashes and the hawk, knowing its mission was done, leapt off of her arm with another shriek and a powerful sweep of his wings before quickly disappearing into the sky.

"I need to go get Yuudai. We've been summoned by Ibiki-san." Sakura informed Karin. Suddenly Sakura's eyes narrowed, as two chakra spikes entered her senses…and she realized that they were coming from the other training ground.

"Dammit." She cursed, before putting chakra to her feet and launching into the forest.

"Eh? WAIT!" Karin screeched, running after her.

* * *

Sasuke stumbled backwards slightly, recovering quickly to keep from giving Yuudai an opening. The other man, however, wasn't faring any better than the Uchiha. He was several feet away, holding his naginata a little lower than normal.

The large gash on Sasuke's arm throbbed, but he pushed the pain aside as he lifted his sword once more.

He couldn't help the smug smirk that came across his face as he noticed the small section of Yuudai's naginata that he'd sliced off. It was only a little part at the base of the weapon's pole, but it still boosted Sasuke's pride.

_His_ weapon wasn't broken, after all.

Unfortunatelly he still had three broken ribs from his fight with Sai and he was now sported a large cut on his arm, a sliced tendon at the back of his right ankle that was bleeding like a stuck pig, and three broken fingers on his left hand—Yuudai had slammed the metal base of his naginata down on them before Sasuke had sliced that small part of the pole off.

Of course, Yuudai had not come away unscathed either. Sasuke had gotten a few good hits in during their fight. He'd sliced Yuudai's left calf and the large red stain on his pants was still spreading. Also, Sasuke knew he must have broken Yuudai's jaw when he'd slammed the hilt of his sword into it earlier…especially since it was now a horried black and blue color.

Yuudai merely spit out a mouthful of blood.

Both of them were almost at their end. They'd each been training with another opponent earlier that day and the sun's temperature had only increased during their little 'spar'. It was now or never. If one of them was going to come out the victor it would be with the next move.

Yuudai crouched down, wincing at the pain in his leg from his wound, holding his naginata tightly.

Sasuke crouched as well—his ankle hurt like a bitch—and tried to grip his sword correctly, even with three broken fingers that were stuck at odd angles.

Sai and Suigetsu merely watched, waiting. Suigetsu sported an apprehensive smile—as if he enjoyed the scene but was worried about the outcome. Sai's face was carefully neutral, no longer holding a fake smile.

_This is it._ Sasuke thought, crimson eyes narrowed. _You will not win._

Yuudai's eyes merely narrowed dangerously in turn, as if he could somehow read Sasuke's thoughts.

_You don't deserve her, Uchiha. I won't let you have her._

They lunged.

Time seemed to slow as a pink flash slipped in-between the two of them. Sasuke's eyes widened for a fraction of a second as he tried to jerk his sword back, panic jolting through his heart as he recognized the intruder.

_Sakura._

Then his arm jolted painfully and he stopped, one leg bent in his striking crouch. He heard Yuudai's ragged breathing moving in sync with his own, and the soft pants that resonated from the woman between them.

Blood fell to the ground in a continuous drip, painting the green grass crimson. One of her hands was wrapped around Sasuke's sword, and it had sliced it straight down the palm, cutting deeply. Her fingers were wrapped around it loosely to keep from having them severed. The blood trickled down the blade, meeting Sasuke's own fingers, coating them in the sticky liquid.

Yuudai's naginata had sunken into the back of Sakura's other hand, where she had blocked the weapon. The force of his attack, however, had sliced through the metal band on her standard Konoha glove, and the black cloth beneath it was darkening as the blood trickled down her arm.

_I could have killed her. _Sasuke thought silently, almost numbly as he stared at his sword and her bleeding hand. He was lucky he hadn't met her eyes—or he would have seen them narrowed in unadulterated fury.

"You…" Her voice shook softly, trembling into anger from its usual monotone.

"Sakura-san!" Yuudai began, lowering his weapon and pulling the blade from her hand. She didn't wince, but the moment the blade was taken out blood spurted from the wound, making Yuudai swallow. It was deep.

"…what were you two _doing_?"

Sasuke almost winced at the cold fury hidden in her voice. He merely carefully moved his blade from her hand—she had opened it already to give him free movement. He didn't sheath the blade, merely stared down at the crimson stain that ran along its length. _What if I had conducted my chidori through the blade? She would…_

She would have been dead quicker than you could say rasengan. And for some reason, that thought made Sasuke go cold.

"Sakura!" Karin came bursting into the clearing, panting. She doubled over as she tried to catch her breath, before giving a small startled cry at the sight before her. "What happened!?"

"An immature spat between two idiots, most likely." Sakura answered back tonelessly, her voice still holding an icy edge as her palms glowed green, healing themselves quickly.

Sasuke's lips thinned in irritation, while Yuudai looked away, ashamed.

"Er, it's wasn't that bad, Sakura-sensei." Suigetsu began, rubbing the back of his neck. Sakura turned to where Suigetsu and Sai sat.

"And you two did nothing to stop them. You're just as much at fault here."

"I was hoping they'd kill each other off." Sai murmured, flashing his best smile. Sakura merely glared at him.

"Whatever you two were fighting over, it was surely not worth risking your lives—as well as those of your teammates." Sakura continued, shoulders stiff and tense in her anger.

Both of the men disagreed silently, but said nothing, merely shot each other withering glares over her head.

"Yuudai." Sakura turned to her interrogation partner. "We need to head back for a briefing. Ibiki-san sent me a message."

Yuudai nodded, taking a step forward and reveling in the way Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Of course, Sakura-san."

"Sakura." Sasuke began, also stepping forward and effectively stopping her from walking out of the clearing by blocking her path.

Sakura merely walked up to him. There was a moment of silence, before she grabbed the fabric of his shirt and slowly wiped off the blood from her hands with it. Then she let go and walked passed him, Yuudai right behind her.

"Don't forget to come to my apartment tonight for lessons, Karin. I may be a little late if something comes up. And Sasuke, you will need to go to the hospital to have your wounds tended to." And then she and Yuudai disappeared, leaving four stunned shinobi—though Sai and Sasuke refrained from showing their shock.

"Well, I'll see you here tomorrow, Sasuke. We have to continue our training after all." Sai smiled, before disappearing as well.

Sasuke watching him go, before he looked down at his shirt. The blood had begun to dry, and it stung his nostrils—the coppery scent was strangely appealing to him, even if it was merely because it was Sakura's blood and no one else's.

_I could have killed her._

For once, he took no satisfaction in that knowledge.

* * *

The silence was tense as Sakura and Yuudai walked down the slowly darkening streets of Konoha. Yuudai's pace was a bit slower than Sakura's, so that he wouldn't be standing side-by-side with her, rather he walked behind her. She'd already healed his wounds. She'd stopped him as soon as they'd entered Konoha's streets from the forest. She hadn't numbed the pain at all, and he'd felt every little twitch as she realigned his jaw and then sewed the skin of his leg back together with chakra. It had stung, but not as much as his pride.

"Sakura-san…" He began after ten minutes of nothing but the sound of their feet against the beaten dirt of the street. "I wanted to apologize for injuring you…"

"Don't."

Yuudai winced at the curt tone, and he was ashamed at her disappointment in him. But he would not take back his actions against the Uchiha. That traitor had deserved it—and he definitely did not deserve Sakura. No one as tainted as he deserved her.

Besides, Yuudai could provide her with a home and a place of honor in a prestigious clan. Sasuke, while being an Uchiha, was nothing. He held no power in Konoha. He was barely considered a _citizen_. The Uchiha clan was nothing any longer, and it was a known fact.

_Sakura does not need someone who will only hurt her in the end. He has been given too many chances. He does not deserve another, _Yuudai's eyes narrowed, before he found himself and Sakura standing in front of the interrogation base. They slipped inside, nodding at the Anbu guards at the door. They nodded back before resuming their watch.

Their footsteps echoed down the tiled hallways, each footfall so loud that it made Yuudai inwardly wince.

The interrogation base was eerily quiet. Usually there was some sound—whether it be chatter from the lounge or muffled screams from the holding cells. But there was nothing. It seemed as if all the other interrogators had gone home already—another rarity, since most of the interrogators worked full night shifts.

"They must be in the back room." Yuudai finally murmured softly, but his voice sounded loud in the stillness of the halls.

"Aa."

Yuudai winced at Sakura's cold admonishment. He wasn't given much more time to dwell on it, however, as they found themselves standing in front of a door at the furthest end of the interrogation unit. It was hidden behind twisting hallways and corridors—he'd barely noticed they'd been walking that far.

Sakura knocked twice.

"Come in."

Sakura did so, with Yuudai right behind her. She blinked, however, as she noticed the odd group sitting at the large table in front of her. Three of them were expected: Ibiki, Anko, and Amagawa Ayano: the elder woman who usually worked with Yuudai. The other two people sitting at the round table covered in files, however, were the exception. Sakura recognized them instantly—she'd been on at least one mission with each of them.

And she'd been on countless of missions with their children.

Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi were not exactly _strangers_ to the interrogation unit—both had been avid members in their younger days due to their unique clan abilities—but they were only ever called anymore when something extremely serious was happening.

Sakura nodded her head at each of them in turn before taking her seat. They greeted her the same way, though Inoichi smiled softly at her in welcoming. She knew him probably the best out of all of them, due to the fact that he was her best friend's father. Yuudai did much the same, sitting down in the only other available seat.

"Well now that we're all here, let's get down to business." Anko grinned.

Ayano snorted derisively at Anko's eagerness, but said nothing. The two of them often saw things differently and were usually quarreling about one thing or another during their numerous shifts at the interrogation base.

"Haruno, after the information you and Hyuga got out of the Cloud-nin, we've come up with a few extra battle strategies that will be handed out to the Anbu." Ibiki began, motioning to a stack of papers beside Shikaku. "As the Hokage's apprentice you will be with her at all times during the third exam with the Anbu guards and so you should look over them before leaving." Sakura nodded.

"The idea that Kumogakure is still trying to get revenge against the Hyuga Clan is disturbing." Inoichi cut in. "The Hyuga Clan has been notified already and they are taking extra precautions to guard Hinata during the third exam."

Shikaku snorted. "I heard she wasn't too happy about that."

No, Sakura didn't believe she would be. Like herself, Hinata had always been thought of as weak. Now that she was a strong and able-bodied kunoichi she couldn't stand it when people tried to protect her and make her seem inadequate in protecting herself. It reopened old wounds, and that was something neither girl appreciated. Sakura made a mental note to drop a hint to Naruto to go and console Hinata at the Hyuga compound later. That would cheer the young Hyuga up.

"What information has been gained about the teams from Kirigakure and Iwagakure? We already know that Kumogakure is a threat, but what of the other two?"

"The genin team led by Kuroki Shinju from Kirigakure is being watched carefully by my team." Ibiki nodded at Sakura and Anko. Anko and Ibiki had been apparently tailing the team while Sakura had been busy at the hospital and with training. Sakura felt a bit guilty, since it was her job as well. "Their sensei is our greatest threat at the moment."

Sakura shook her head. "Iie, Ibiki-san. While Kuroki may be one of the elite, it is her student Yasu that unnerves me." This was all said in her same monotone, even as she continued. "Her doujutsu works specifically against other doujutsu. I have my suspicions she was sent to deal directly with Uchiha Sasuke, perhaps to destroy the Sharingan."

"Do you think she's an undercover Sound-nin angry at his murdering Orochimaru?" Inoichi asked.

"Che. There aren't any Sound-nin left, except for that Kabuto brat." Anko spat out. "I don't think he's organized enough to plan that with so few shinobi under his command."

"This is so troublesome." Shikaku grunted.

"What information do we have on the Iwagakure shinobi?" Ibiki asked, and Sakura almost gave a frustrated sigh as the meeting continued. She already knew that this was going to be a long night—if the grumblings of Shikaku and Yuudai's fervent glances at her were anything to go by.

* * *

Sakura slowly placed Takumi's recent medical report down onto her lap, taking a sip of coffee. This was her second cup since her shift began, but she hardly noticed. She merely checked a few things off on the clipboard secured in her lap.

Takumi was sleeping softly, looking strangely peaceful. It made her inwardly smile at him, even if she didn't show it on the outside. Her brief lapse of weakness the day before was enough for her. She would not show that same emotional weakness to this young boy again.

Things were starting to look up, however. She'd begun doing some tests and had assessed enough of Takumi's eyes to begin healing the damaged nerves. So far she had no assurance that he would see again, but at least she'd stopped the pain that occurred every time the boy blinked or moved his eyes.

He still couldn't expose them to light, so the blue bandage remained tied around his face. He had seemed cheerful when Sakura had entered the room with a soft greeting. The nurses said that he'd begun responding positively to them after Sakura's talk with him.

Takumi's female teammate had even left her a flower as a gift of thanks.

She'd spent the last hour and a half working on Takumi, but her chakra was slowly being drained. And she was supposed to check on Juugo this week and she'd figured that since she was here, she might as well look in on him now before heading to continue her genjutsu lessons with Karin.

She stood, taking the clipboard with her. She spared the sleeping boy one last glance before closing the door behind her, placing the clipboard in the small pocket on the door so the next medic-nin on duty could look over his diagnosis.

She took a left, heading to the high-security patient ward. The ward itself was small—especially now that Suigetsu and Karin had been moved out when their injuries were healed. There were two Anbu guards at the end of the hall—they'd been put there ever since a fight between Tsunade and the elder council about Juugo's security. To appease them she'd said that there would be Anbu guarding his door at all times.

If Sakura had been her old cheerful self she would have waved at them and given them a smile. But she merely nodded curtly, going towards Juugo's room. She didn't make it there however, as the door in front of her burst open and a girl ran out, sobbing.

The Anbu were immediately on edge and seemed to know more than Sakura did—she was quiet confused, since she hadn't known the room was being used at all. The young girl was a medic-nin-in-training that Shizune had begun to teach medical jutsu to.

"What…?" Sakura questioned as the two Anbu rounded on the door. Sakura shook her head, "You two, stay and guard Juugo, he might have been awoken and become disturbed by the noise of the door slamming."

The Anbu hesitated, but merely nodded as Sakura walked inside the apparently occupied room and shut the door behind her.

"Now what seems to be the problem…" Sakura began, turning around. She stared at the person sitting on the hospital bed with a mixture of shock and mild abhorrence. "…Sasuke…"

The entire room was dark, save for one sliver of moonlight from the window. It fell onto Sasuke's lithe form, bathing him in its silver glow. He was sitting with his hands propped up on his knees, his cheek resting on them. It was his old brooding pose, one she hadn't seen in a while. It filled her with nostalgia—and made her eyes narrow as she noticed the spreading crimson stain on the white sheet.

"Why are you still bleeding?"

"That medic-nin was incompetent." Sasuke answered back, his tone just as cold as hers.

Sakura snorted. "So you're going to bleed out because you won't take help from a medic-nin you don't deem worthy enough?"

"Hn."

"You're pathetic, Sasuke." Sakura chastised, stepping forward. "I'm tempted not to heal you at all." _Damn medic-nin philosophy of never leaving a wounded man without aid…_ She understood now why someone had been in this room. Sasuke was still considered a traitor by some—herself included—and so he would of course be sent to the high security ward of the hospital to be under Anbu guard while being healed.

_Damn karma._

He continued to remain silent, his eyes glinting dark obsidian. They never left her face as she walked towards him. She placed her glowing hand on his shoulder first, her face impassive as she worked. Her eyes were slightly unfocused, a sign she was concentrating.

He merely studied her face.

"You should have come in earlier to get these wounds looked at. Shizune is always in this section of the hospital during the time I was at my meeting at the Interrogation Unit."

"Hn." _She wasn't good enough for me._

"You've lost a lot of blood. The cut is deep. How are you still conscious?"

"I took several blood replenishing pills while I waited."

"Che." Sakura muttered, voice still the same laconic, emotionless drawl as always. "Taking so many of those pills will distort your chakra passageways for a while. Your body can't handle that kind of rapid replenishing in succession. Most shinobi only use one at a time and even then it wears down on the body."

"Hn."

She finished with the shoulder wound, going to his ribs. She touched his side and he winced slightly, letting out a small cough, blood trickling down his mouth.

"I assumed it had punctured a lung, this is a good affirmation." Sakura nodded to herself. It was almost as if he weren't even there, she was so engrossed in her healing.

"You smell like coffee."

"Thank you mister-state-the-fucking-obvious." It would have been more insulting if she'd said it sarcastically. The bland monotone she used merely made it sound like she was stating a fact. Ok, maybe it was _more_ insulting that way.

He had merely thought to comment on the scent. It was rich and thick—she'd probably downed an entire cup before getting to his room. He had always liked the smell of coffee—his father had always had a cup every morning before leaving for the Uchiha Police Building. It was earthy and strangely overwhelming. It reminded him of home and mornings waking up to his mother smiling, his brother giving him a small smirk before poking him in the forehead and telling him he couldn't train with him that day.

"_Next time Sasuke. I promise."_

He abhorred the smell of coffee now. It was a catalyst to memories long forgotten. He wanted nothing to do with that time. He had never had a sip of coffee since before the Uchiha massacre.

"_Demo…okaasan…" Sasuke wiggled in his seat. "Why can't I have some?"  
_

_"Coffee is for adults, Sasuke-chan."_

"_But I'm big! I can reach the counter all by myself!"  
_

_His mother laughed—he loved the sound of her laugh, it always made him smile. "But you're not old_ enough_, Sasuke-chan."_

"_Let the boy have a drink."_

_Sasuke turned to grin at his father, who hadn't looked away from his newspaper._

"_Thanks otousan!" Sasuke turned to his mother, and she held a small cup out to him. Itachi watched him from across the table, his usual blank eyes glittering with silent amusement._

_Sasuke took a big sip—and spit it all out on his plate, ruining his breakfast. "Wa!! This stuff is icky. It tastes weird, okaasan!"_

"_Bitter." Itachi amended. "Coffee is bitter, Sasuke."_

_Their father merely smiled from behind his newspaper while Itachi chuckled, MIkoto laughed softly, and Sasuke pouted as he tried to get the taste of the coffee out of his mouth._

Bitter…just like the memories it brought.

Sakura didn't notice his musings as she crouched down, grabbing his calf and holding it gently so she could reach his ankle. "If the tendon had been severed completely you wouldn't have been able to walk at all. However, the way the cut was made you bled out more than you would have with a clean cut." She was talking to herself again, as she continued mending him.

"They say you're on par with the Hokage in terms of medical jutsu."

Sakura blinked, having finished with his ankle. The only thing left to heal were his broken fingers. She stood slowly, "So I've been told."

"You are the only competent medic here."

"I'm glad that my humble skills are worthy enough to be used upon your ailing body, oh great one." There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice that time, and her eyes glittered slightly—though he wasn't sure if it was annoyance or amusement in the half-light.

_When I go to kill my brother…you will be the only one who can heal me afterwards. You are the only one capable of doing so._

Sakura placed a glowing hand to his fingers but was stopped as he suddenly stood.

"Sasuke—" She suddenly found herself pinned to the wall—how they'd stumbled the few feet from the bed to their current position she'd never know.

"Let go of me." Sakura ordered, her voice as cold as ever. Her eyes were narrowed dangerously, but Sasuke merely smirked at her, crimson mixing with black in his eyes as he leaned forward, ignoring her struggling.

"I get what I want." He whispered against her skin, licking her earlobe. Sakura tried to shove him backwards, but Sasuke didn't move. She gritted her teeth, feeling weak and vulnerable. With the way he had her pinned she couldn't get out of his hold. What was he planning anyway?

Was he trying to gauge her emotions? See if she had any weak spots?

"I don't care what you want or what you think you can have. Get off of me."

His lips moved from her ear to her neck.

"…don't forget that."

Then he disappeared as Sakura lashed out with her now chakra-laden fists, meeting thin air. She cursed softly as she noticed the open window, the curtains blowing in the soft wind.

She breathed in deeply a few times, now quite sure why her heart was racing and her skin was tingling. She placed a hand to her neck, where his lips had just skimmed the surface.

"Bastard." She whispered as she shut the window with a loud bang, pulling the curtains shut with a snap.

The two Anbu entered the room at the sound of the window being slammed shut. She waved them off, not even giving them an explanation as she walked out of the room. Juugo's appointment would wait till the next day. He was probably asleep anyway.

And she needed to blow off some steam before she met with Karin to discuss more genjutsu.

_How dare that arrogant bastard think he can use me. All that talk about medics…he thinks he can get me to help him with whatever the hell he needs me for?_

_Hell no._

She continued briskly down the hallway, forcing herself not to glower. But she realized, as she continued down the stairs and out of the hospital, that she wasn't really that angry. No, she was merely wholeheartedly confused at his actions.

What was he playing at?

And on top of that, she was wondering why she had felt so bereft of warmth when he'd disappeared out the window.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

**(A\N: There is some SasuSaku for you, because you've all been so patient. :D I hope you liked it. Now just remember, Sasuke and Sakura are both denying their feelings for one another. So of course Sasuke says its because he wants her as his medic and no one elses…and Sakura thinks he's trying to gauge her emotional weaknesses and strengths…-sigh- they're so naïve. Anyway the next chapter…THE CHUNIN EXAMS! I've just realized that this story is going to be a million chapters long…TT but that's OK! Because I'm really loving this story. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	23. Chapter 22: Doujutsu Battle

**(A\N: Wow…it's amazing what the flu can do for your muse. XD Sitting in bed trying not to puke has given me time to think and plan out scenes. And in a rare moment of not being nauseas I was able to finish writing this chapter. I hope you all enjoy. …I'm going back to sleep now.)**

* * *

**Chapter 22**

**Doujutsu battle! Sharingan v. Oujougan!**

* * *

The roar of the crowd echoed throughout the arena. Sakura surveyed the cheering crowds from her place in the main booth, where the kages were gathered. She was standing to Tsunade's left, and her shishou was looking out into the crowds much as Sakura had done, her face stoic.

"Anything interesting happened yet?"

Sakura turned to see Temari walking over to them, standing beside her younger brother Gaara. She smiled at Sakura and grabbed her into a hug before the younger girl could protest. Gaara watched all of this with his usual emotionless gaze, but his eyes softened at the sight.

Sakura nodded at Gaara in greeting and managed to give a small smile to Temari. "It's good to see you two again, Temari-san, Kazekage-dono."

Gaara merely sat down in his seat and Temari stood near his right so that she could talk to Sakura. Baki was standing to Gaara's left. The person holding the right on Tsunade's side was Shizune, who held Tonton as she gave a small worried frown.

Each of the kages was allowed to have two bodyguards with him in the booth, as a security precaution.

The Raikage was watching everything with an air of boredom, and his two guards looked edgy and tense, in stark contrast to their kage. Relations between Cloud and Leaf were still strained, after all, and one small mistake could lead to war between the two countries. Tsunade had only allowed his shinobi to come and participate in this Exam to placate him and ensure a continued neutrality between the two countries.

The Tsuchikage was gruff as always, and his long mustache and beard drooped a bit in the heat. One of his bodyguards was heavily muscled and wore a strange armor, and the other one was a lithe woman whose dark skin was covered in golden tattoos. Stone had been strangely complacent lately, and an ensuing alliance between the two countries was very likely.

Sakura looked over at the Mizukage through narrowed eyes. One of his guards she did not recognize, but the other was Kuroki Shinju, dressed in her full Kirigakure regalia, her _shuangshou jian _strapped to her back. Of all the leaders here, Sakura distrusted the Mizukage and his kiri-nin the most.

The Hoshikage had declined the invitation to attend a few days ago, saying something had come up that could not allow him to leave his village.

Sakura heard the soft crackling of static in her ear and pressed the small com-link, murmuring into the mouth piece held in place by a black band around her neck. "This is Lotus 3, what is your position?" Her squad of nin during the exams, consisting of Ibiki and Anko, had been given the name Lotus for quick communication.

"Lotus 3, the west sector is secure. Teams Wisteria, Camellia, and Acacia have gotten into place. Waiting only for confirmation from teams Coriander, Nightshade, and Hollowroot." Ibiki's gruff voice came across the ear piece.

Sakura almost rolled her eyes at the names the teams had been given. She half expected the security program to be called Operation Flower Garden. But she knew that it was easier to speak with these names. If any enemy had gotten into the files and memorized squad numbers and had tapped into their frequency then using the normal squad names would have been suicidal.

So she merely bent down and whispered in Tsunade's ear, "The west end, the east end, and the northwest end of the village are secure. We are waiting for confirmation from the other sectors."

Tsunade nodded, her face remaining the same calm mask as before. Sakura merely straightened, and met Temari's gaze. The sand kunoichi had been watching the small exchange with interest.

"I heard about your team for the Exams." Temari began, looking down at the expansive stadium. "That must have been hell."

Sakura shrugged.

"I also heard that you've been doing really well with Kankuro's student. He can discern between shadow and light now, or so Kankuro tells me."

Sakura nodded. "He's making amazing progress. He'll have to remain in Konoha after the Exams to continue treatment, of course."

Temari gave a grin. "Hey, I'm not worried. I plan on staying with him. Gives me time to hang out with my favorite lazy-ass ninja, right?"

"You enjoy tormenting Shikamaru, don't you?" Sakura raised an eyebrow at the blonde kunoichi.

Temari snickered. "More than you could possibly imagine."

Sakura let their conversation fall into silence as she thought back to Temari's first statement, about her team. She almost gave a frustrated sigh. Her team was the most stubborn, danger-prone squad she could possibly think of. They never gave up during training, which always led to them being injured. Sakura had done more quick medical patch-ups on their training grounds in two days than a whole week at the hospital.

In fact, she was rather exhausted. On top of her training with Karin and healing her team after their training she still had her hospital shifts (with extra hours after her normal shift spent working with Juugo and Takumi), and on top of _that_ she had her work with the interrogation unit and tailing after Shinju since she _was_ her team's target.

She was sleep deprived and a little snappy, though she doubted anyone could tell. Actually, even if she would never admit it, she had never been happier to have Karin on her team than in that time. Karin either sensed Sakura's chakra becoming erratic because of her stress or she was just like this naturally, but she'd taken to snapping at everyone who even looked at Sakura wrong—besides herself, of course, because she believed she was allowed to insult her all she wanted and Sasuke because he could do no wrong in her eyes—and had been _extremely_ vindictive towards Suigetsu when he had playfully slapped Sakura's butt after a taijutsu training exercise.

That had not been a pleasant experience. On top of Karin yelling at Suigetsu for being a perverted asshole, Suigetsu then had to dodge Sai's ink and a naginata that seemed to appear out of nowhere (compliments of Yuudai). Sasuke had settled for a death glare.

Actually, Sakura couldn't help but think that this newfound rivalry that Sasuke and Yuudai had was very…constructive for Sasuke. He seemed to push himself harder when Yuudai was present at their training grounds. Of course, Yuudai wasn't there regularly; he had his duties as an interrogator and they took precedence. But his sparring with Suigetsu also seemed to have helped, and she could see Suigetsu look over the crowds at the arena, his grin feral and excited.

Sasuke looked completely stoic, his face emotionless. Karin's was tense, and her knuckles were white from where she gripped the edge of the balcony overhang. She pushed her glasses up her nose. They'd begun slipping down with the sweat that was making all of the nin in the arena curse their heavy ninja vests.

Sakura looked over at Temari and noticed the older girl didn't seem to be sweating at all. She saw Sakura's curious gaze and grinned. "This isn't so bad. Try living in a desert your entire life. Then come and talk to me about the heat."

Sakura couldn't help but give a small smile in return, before looking back to the area where the third exam participants were standing, shaded beneath a large overhanging tent above the balcony. Her eyes narrowed a bit as she surveyed the Mist Team. Keiichi was sitting down against the wall, meditating. His owl ruffled its feathers and gave a soft hoot, staring in Sakura's direction. Keiichi looked up and spotted her, giving a small smile. She felt a small shiver run through her body. The smile had been everything but warm and inviting.

She merely turned to his other teammates. Juro looked excited, leaning against one of the pillars, scaring some of the younger contestants. As he leaned back, the armor over his right shoulder hit the wall, making a loud 'clank' echo in the small area, the sound barely reaching Sakura's well-trained ears.

But the one Sakura was really looking at was Yasu. She still wore her kasa and long cloak—she was probably sweltering in the thing. But she didn't seem bothered by it, from where she leaned against the wall next to Juro. Sakura noticed that Juro shied away from making physical contact with her. Yasu's head was turned towards Sasuke, and her gaze—though Sakura couldn't see her face—never left him.

Sakura wouldn't admit it, but she was worried about Sasuke and his fight with the mist-nin kunoichi. Even after Sasuke's unwanted—_definitely_ unwanted, the arrogant jerk—attention towards her, Sakura found that she couldn't find it in herself to wish him harm. Unless she was the one doing it, of course.

Those thoughts were bound to change if Sasuke tried another one of his 'you're my medic don't forget it' stunts. But he'd been acting like the perfect gentleman ever since then—well that wasn't completely true. He was the same cold stick-up-my-ass Uchiha that she'd always known. But at least it was something normal that she could understand.

She was still tempted to believe that Sasuke was drunk the night he'd come on to her. It was the only logical reasoning for his actions, even if she hadn't smelled any alcohol on his breath—and he'd been close enough she could smell the type of shampoo he used. The same kind Kakashi did, if she remembered correctly.

"HEY! Hey Sakura-chan can you hear me?"

Sakura winced, tempted to clutch her ear in pain as Naruto's overzealous yell echoed in her head. Did he have to scream over a _microphone? _She could see several of the other undercover Konoha-nin in the arena wince as they lifted hands to their ears or jerked the ear-pieces out before any permanent damage could be done.

"Yes Naruto." Sakura answered back. "What is it?"

"Can you see me? Come on, try and guess where I am!"

"Naruto…" Sakura sighed softly.

"Naruto, can you stop being immature for one second?" Ino's screech made Sakura's ears ring. Sakura immediately spotted the two bickering blondes in the crowd below her. Ino was currently trying to strangle Naruto, who was waving his arms around comically in an attempt to calm the other blonde.

"Will you two stop that?" Shikamaru's lazy drawl was much more soothing then the yells of the tow raucous blondes. "You two are embarrassing the rest of us. What a drag."

"Hey!" Both screamed at the same time, and this time Sakura actually cringed, her fingers itching to get the ear piece out. She looked to her side to see Temari watching her curiously—but also saw that Baki was glaring murderously in the direction of the blondes, rubbing his ear.

She'd almost forgotten that the Sand-nin were working collectively with their own Jonin. Baki must have been the one in charge of that function, which was the reason he had the earpiece.

"Naruto, Ino, how did you two get this frequency anyway?" Sakura finally asked. "Only a certain few of us have it."

"Ah don't be like that Sakura-chan…" Naruto whined.

"She's right." Shikamaru muttered. "The only reason I have it is because my dad dragged me into this mess. Troublesome…"

"Well, Tsunade-baachan asked some of us Special-Jonin to help." Naruto finally cut in. "'cause you know I've been watching that Stone Team for a while with Ino here so we were asked to stay in the arena to help you guys out."

"Yeah." Ino chirped. "Most of the others are off securing Konoha and blocking off those tunnels that the Interrogation Unit found. They've been hearing some weird sounds from inside."

"Alright. The tournament is about to start." Ibiki's voice crackled over all of their frequencies. "I expect everyone to keep on their guard. Konoha's safety is top priority."

"Hai." Came the collective call of all the Jonin teams, making a jumbled chorus of voices over the ear pieces.

"Haruno," Ibiki's voice began again, "The other three teams are in position. All of Konoha's gates are secure."

"Hai." Sakura turned to tell Tsunade this when her shishou stood, and the crowd below them slowly grew quiet as she stepped forward to the edge of the balcony.

And then she spoke.

* * *

Karin swallowed, looking down at the arena. Two matches had already gone by, and she was beginning to wonder if they would ever get to their own matches. But on that same note, she really didn't want to get to her fight at all.

Even with the genjutsus that Sakura had taught her, Karin was scared. She'd never _admit_ it, of course. But she was afraid of Keiichi and she really _really_ didn't want to fight him. She was silently hoping that he'd suddenly get hit with a heat stroke and die. That would save her a lot of trouble.

God, why was it so hot? Her clothes were sticking to her body like a second skin, and her hair was plastered to her face. A droplet of sweat dripped off her nose and she gave a small groan of irritation. Beside her Suigetsu was gulping his third bottle of water. Where he kept getting them from she wasn't quite sure.

Suigetsu had already fought a low level Genin and beat him easily. It had actually been a rather quick fight. Karin guessed that Suigetsu ended it quickly because of the heat. Usually he liked to make the fight last as long as he could, to draw out his opponent's pain.

But Suigetsu was trying to save his strength for the later fights. After all, the winners of the first round would advance on to the next. There was a good chance Karin herself would be fighting either Suigetsu or Sasuke later on.

If she fought Sasuke she already knew she was going to forfeit. No point in getting her ass-kicked with everyone watching. _That's if he wins his fight against that Yasu bitch, _a nagging voice in the back of her mind sang.

_Of course he'll win! This is _Sasuke_ we're talking about!_

_You heard what Sakura said. And you've sensed her chakra. She's dangerous._

Karin swallowed again, pushing her glasses back up her nose. They'd been slipping the entire time they'd been in the booth. How was she going to fight Keiichi if her glasses kept falling off?

Right now the proctor called out Juro's name and another Genin, who was sweating profusely, both from the heat and nervousness. Juro grinned, leaping up to stand on the edge of the balcony railing. He turned to Suigetsu with an evil grin. "A nice little warm up for our battle, huh?"

"Just don't get your ass kicked by a twelve-year-old." Suigetsu taunted back.

Juro merely glared, before launching himself off of the railing and landing nimbly in the middle of the arena. Dust flew into the air with the impact, but he merely looked around boredly, waiting for the other genin to finish walking down the stairs.

"Took you long enough." Juro sneered, and the young boy swallowed, trying to mask his nervousness as he got into a defensive stance.

_Already on the defensive I see. The match hasn't even begun and he's already scared shitless!_ Karin really couldn't blame him, however. Juro had a lot of chakra and as she had told Sakura, he specialized with water-style jutsu. She distantly wondered how nice it would be to be hit with a water dragon jutsu right now. She wouldn't mind, as long as it was cold enough. She frowned at her thought, shaking her head. The heat was making her delirious.

The proctor began the match, and there was a moment of silence as the two opponents stared at one another. Then a hot gust of wind blew, hitting Karin in the face and making her put a hand up to block the dust. When she finally managed to look back down she let out a small gasp.

The young boy was running up the wall of the stadium, dodging large water dragon missiles. When the missiles missed their target they dug into the concrete wall of the arena, carving twisted shapes as they went. The boy merely continued to dodge, throwing kunai and shuriken at Juro, who dodged effortlessly.

The other genin had lost before the match had begun.

But how had Juro created water out of thin air? Only Hoshigaki Kisame was known to have that ability. She'd missed seeing what he'd done when the wind had blown—and cursed herself for her inattentiveness. Could this Juro guy really have such an expansive chakra amount that he could create his own water?

And then one of the water missiles skimmed the boy's shoulder. He cried out, and blood splattered against the arena wall as he fell, landing on the now damp ground.

Juro slowly walked over to the boy, his eyes glinting wickedly as the young genin tried to push himself up. Juro merely picked the boy up by his throat and slammed him against the wall.

_He wouldn't!_ Karin thought, strangely terrified. "He's going to kill that boy!" She whispered softly, voice filled with anger and horror. She leaned over the balcony, eyes wide, glasses once again slipping down her nose.

Juro had the boy pinned against the wall, and his hand was filled with water. He pressed the water against the boy's throat and the boy let out a choked scream as Juro continued to push, and Karin saw that the water was actually _being absorbed through the boy's skin_. He was clawing madly at Juro's hand to get him to let go but Juro continued, grinning sadistically as blood bubbled up from the boy's lips and trickled down his mouth.

The crowd was roaring and shouting—whether in disgust or approval Karin didn't know. She just continued to stare at the boy's glazed over eyes as his hands slipped from Juro's arm, no longer trying to break free of his hold—before Juro was thrown several feet away.

Juro landed in the dirt, leaping up with a growl. Two Konoha Jonin were in the middle of the arena with the proctor. The proctor was the one who had thrown Juro back. One of the Jonin—Karin vaguely recognized him as a medic-nin from the hospital—knelt next to the boy and began shouting at the other Jonin to get a medic squad down as soon as possible.

"This match is finished." The proctor spoke, his voice cold. "Mochizuki Juro is the winner and will advance to the next round."

The crowd roared again, as Juro merely gave a derisive snort and leapt back up to the balcony. Karin backed a few feet away as he appeared beside her. She narrowed her eyes in disgust.

He noticed her gaze and merely leaned down—he was a good head taller than she was—and spoke, a nasty smile spreading across his face. "What's wrong? Scared that'll be you?"

"Maybe she's just disgusted by your fucking ugly face." Suigetsu cut in, stepping in between them, eyes narrowed. "Looking at it makes me want to hurl too. I can't wait to rip it off your head." Juro's eyes narrowed in response and they glared at each other, before Juro smirked.

"Strong words…for a kid who couldn't even become one of the Legendary Swordsmen. Didn't want to take you did they?"

Suigetsu's hand tightened around his sword, but he said nothing, as Juro turned away with a dry laugh, sliding down to sit beside Keiichi, who was watching the whole fight with an air of boredom. Yasu continued to watch Sasuke, and Karin could tell it was aggravating the Uchiha that her gaze hadn't left him since they'd walked out onto the balcony.

"Don't listen to him, Suigetsu." Karin cut in, trying to repay him for his help in telling Juro off earlier. "They didn't take you to be a swordsman because they disbanded before you were given the chance."

Suigetsu merely huffed, leaning against the railing, shoulders hunched. His hair covered his face, hiding it from her view. But she heard him whisper a soft, "That isn't true." She wasn't quite sure if what she heard was real, so she put it to the back of her mind as she turned once again to look at the large screen that hung above the Kage's seats.

It held the tournament brackets, and the other genin's name was crossed out with a red line and Juro's name went to the brackets for the next round. Karin swallowed, because at that moment the screen went blank and then two names appeared on it.

Hara Keiichi vs. Karin.

It was time.

* * *

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she gripped the back of Tsunade's chair with one hand, knuckles going white at the sound of the boy's screams. Her medic instincts were telling her to rush down and heal him—he had excess liquid in his lungs and was literally drowning in front of them. But she didn't move—because she knew that the proctor for this exam would stop him—and she watched as her suspicions were confirmed.

A group of medic-nin took the bleeding boy off the field and Juro leapt back up onto the balcony.

"Your shinobi seem to jump into battle rather quickly, Hokage-dono."

Sakura turned to look at the Mizukage, who was turned to face Tsunade, a small smile crossing his lips.

"My shinobi merely value life…and do not see the need for unnecessary bloodshed. That would be…barbaric…" Tsunade answered back, delivering a small insult to the Mizukage hidden beneath the guise of polite conversation.

The Mizukage merely smiled back. "Of course, of course. I merely thought that it was strange that the moment someone begins to lose your shinobi jump in to save them. I had thought perhaps they would only do that for their own genin."

"We protect many people. Village differences mean little when a life is in danger, unless they are an enemy." Tsunade countered.

Sakura didn't listen anymore, because Tsunade and the Mizukage stopped their conversation…as Karin and Keiichi jumped down to the arena floor.

* * *

Karin took a deep breath, brushing a lock of red hair from her forehead. She swallowed, trying to wet her throat as Keiichi landed on the ground in front of her, his owl ruffling its feathers, annoyed at the heat.

_Maybe that stupid bird won't be able to sense my genjutsu now, _she thought, trying to be optimistic. Unfortunately, Karin was a pessimist at heart and it didn't help lighten the tight coiling of nervousness in her stomach.

This was going to be hell.

The proctor looked from Keiichi—who smiled coldly at Karin—to Karin, who only pushed her glasses back up her nose.

"Begin!" And then he disappeared from the arena.

Karin leapt backwards, feeling the small burst of chakra in Keiichi's system as he used it to propel himself towards her. She back flipped, twisting on her hands and blocking his kick with one of her legs.

He smiled at her once more—she didn't know if it was meant to be a kind smile or not—and jumped back. Karin pushed herself back onto her feet, simultaneously getting into a crouched position, pulling out a kunai.

_Damn…if he's using taijutsu I won't be able to sense through his chakra what kind of jutsu he's using and avoid it! I can only sense if he's using chakra to strengthen his own attacks. Damn, damn, damn…_she cursed silently as she threw the kunai at him, watching Keiichi dodge it nimbly, running towards her.

He moved faster than she could see, and she barely had time to block his punch with her forearm. Only the faint trace of his chakra had made that possible, and she gave a small cry as the bone in her arm snapped from the force.

She tumbled backwards, righting herself and throwing five shuriken in the general direction she'd sensed him from. She clutched her arm, wincing as she watched the shuriken embed themselves in the arena wall.

_He's fast, and his strikes are fluid and graceful, like water. _She ducked just in time, as his leg flew over her, the edges of her hair brushing against his pants. She grabbed a kunai from her back, twirling it on her finger before stabbing upwards.

It slammed into his leg and she heard him give a yell before she cursed, jumping backwards just as he disappeared into a puddle of water and the real Keiichi came at her from behind. But she'd sensed the jutsu right before it had begun and she was ready. She used a substitution and hid behind some trees at one end of the arena, gasping for breath and holding her broken arm.

She slumped against the trunk as she heard the subtle 'poof' of her substitution turning into smoke, revealing the log she'd used to hide her real self. Keiichi cursed, and Karin merely closed her eyes, hiding her chakra signature from him.

She heard his owl give a soft hoot but she gritted her teeth and began a set of hand signs. It was a lower level genjutsu, because she wanted to test the owl's power. The owl seemed to communicate with his master through a subtle click of his beak, and dispelled the illusion quickly.

_Alright, b-level genjutsu are out._

* * *

"She's not as skilled as her two teammates are, is she?" The Raikage asked, almost disappointedly, as they watched Karin run, trying to dodge Keiichi's quick kicks and punches.

"Karin's specialties are more suited for other work, not one-on-one battles." Sakura merely stated, continuing to watch the fight. "But you need not worry, Raikage-dono. Her abilities are up to par with the mist-nin. She will not lose this fight."

"You seem very confidant for someone who is watching her student die in front of her eyes." The Mizukage chuckled, as Karin let out a small cry as she was punched in the stomach and sent flying across the arena, landing in the dirt.

"I know her strengths." Was Sakura's only reply. _And Karin knows your shinobi's weaknesses._

"She's wasting her chakra with all those genjutsu." The Tsuchikage murmured gruffly. "It's easy to see that the mist-nin's owl can sense genjutsu and counter them for his master."

"But how strong are his owl's abilities?" Gaara finally spoke, his pale jade eyes never leaving the battle. They watched as Karin took another hit and flew backwards as her next genjutsu failed and he sighed softly.

"I already know the outcome of this battle."

"So do I." The Raikage laughed.

Gaara gave him a questioning look and a hint of an amused smile tilted at his lips. "Do you?"

* * *

Karin slammed into the wall, letting out a small cry as she felt her shoulder snap. She spit up a mouthful of blood, trying to ignore the sharp pain in her chest that told her one of her broken ribs had punctured her left lung.

"He's…too fast…" She moaned to herself, trying to get into a sitting position. She finally righted herself, leaning back against the arena wall, staring at Keiichi, who was at the other end, his gaze calm.

She whimpered softly as she touched her shoulder. Blood was seeping through her shirt, telling her that the bone was probably jutting from the skin. But it was a rather clean break, not a fragmentation like in her left arm from his first kick.

But it still hurt like a bitch.

_I can't fight him physically…and all of my genjutsu aren't working! That damn owl can sense them all…_

The sun continued to beat down on her and she blinked, because her vision seemed to be blurred. That was when she noticed that her glasses lay a few feet away, smashed to pieces. The shattered lenses glittered in the sunlight, glinting across the walls.

"…fuck…" Karin moaned. She couldn't fight without her glasses. She could still see, but everything was fuzzy, and everything outside of the arena itself was just a blur.

_One more genjutsu…_

_You have to use that one._

_But Sakura said not to use it unless I have no other choice!_

_You _don't!_ He's going to _kill_ you!_

_  
_Karin gritted her teeth as she spotted Keiichi running towards her, a wickedly curved dagger in one hand.

_Shit, shit, shit!_ She forced her arms to move, even as she let out a sob at the pain of her broken arm and shoulder. The hand signs melded together quickly.

Ten feet away.

_A few more hand signs!_

Five feet away.

_Now!_ She finished by slamming her palms together, her index fingers curled around one another. "Illusion technique: Crimson Nightshade!"

Keiichi blinked as Karin disappeared from his sight. He skidded to a half in front of the arena wall, looking to his owl. "Well?" The owl merely blinked at him slowly, saying nothing.

"Dammit! Where is she?" He yelled angrily, looking around the arena. His owl wasn't helping at all. It hadn't identified the genjutsu which meant it either wasn't strong enough to be a problem at all or was too strong for even his owl to detect. He hadn't thought the latter was possible, so he merely scanned the area for her chakra signature.

"Come out, come out wherever you are…" He murmured, eyes narrowed as he spotted the patch of trees she'd hid behind before and ran towards them. He slammed his dagger into the trunk, but only blinked as he found the area deserted. But…the only other covering in the arena itself were a few boulders on the other end.

"Where are you!?" He yelled out.

He was met with silence, until he heard a small laugh from behind him. He twirled around, finding nothing.

"What's wrong? Can't see me?"

"Fucking bitch." Keiichi cursed. "Where are you?" He swung his dagger around, hoping to catch her. His blade met nothing but air. His owl shrieked at the harsh movement, launching off of his shoulder. He ignored it as he slammed the dagger into his leg, hoping to jolt himself out of the illusion.

He stared down at his bleeding leg, breathing harshly. Nothing had changed. He couldn't see her.

And then he heard the soft shifting of the ground. He looked down to see plants sprouting from the earth, twisting vines that crawled up the sides of the arena and the boulders and the trees.

"What the…"

Small buds formed along the vines, and they slowly opened to reveal bright crimson flowers.

"These flowers suck out the life of anything they touch…" That damn bitch's voice again…where was it coming from?

Keiichi's eyes widened as he turned to where the vines had crept up the trees. The trees' leaves began to wither and the tree itself seemed to disintegrate before his very eyes.

"This is all a fucking illusion!" He yelled back. "You can't fool me! I know it isn't real!"

His owl shrieked and he turned to see it trying to fly into the air, only to have a vine shoot from the ground and grab it, dragging it back to the earth. The owl convulsed a few times as the vine wrapped around it, before it became nothing more than a pile of bloodied feathers.

"Oh my god…" He took a step backwards, before he felt something brushing against him.

"Oh god, oh god…" He tried to jerk the dagger from his leg, but the vine that was slowly twisting around it held it in place. He grabbed for a kunai in his pouch, trying to cut the vine away.

Then it dug into his skin.

He let out a scream as pain ran through his body as the root dug itself inside, just below the surface of the skin. "Get out!" He screamed, digging the kunai into his skin to try and cut the vine away. But the plant was relentless, and he jerked, screaming as it branched out, twisting underneath his skin.

Oh god he could see it moving…

* * *

"Get out!"

Sakura stared down at the scene in front of her, her gaze impassive. Karin was leaning against the side of the arena as she had been when she'd started the genjutsu. She was staring, wide-eyed, at Keiichi, as was everyone else in the arena.

He was currently digging his kunai into his leg, tearing through the skin. Blood was spurting everywhere as he continued to drag the kunai through his leg.

"Get out! GET OUT!"

His eyes were fevered, and his owl let out a worried hoot from where it was perched on a tree nearby.

"GET IT OUT OF ME! OH _GOD_!" Keiichi screamed, now digging the kunai through his arms. "I CAN _SEE_ IT! IT'S IN ME! GET IT OUT!" He let out another cry as he dropped his kunai, digging his fingernails into his face, shredding the skin. Blood dripped onto the ground, running down his arms. It was already pouring out of every visible part of his body from where he had dragged the kunai blade through his skin.

Several of the civilians in the audience were in the process of or had already thrown up.

"R-release!" They heard Karin sob out, staring at the bloodied man in front of her. He collapsed onto the ground and she could only stare, wide-eyed, shaking.

A medic team rushed down to the arena, standing in front of Keiichi, hands glowing green. They crouched down in front of him for a few minutes as the crowd stayed in sickened silence. Finally, one of the medics looked up at the Hokage and shook his head.

Sakura swallowed. Keiichi was dead. She merely looked to Karin, who had put a hand to her mouth to cover her horrified cries. Sakura knew that as one of Orochimaru's trusted servants she had conducted most of the experiments in his absence. But seeing a man tear himself apart was probably something she'd never witnessed.

Sakura felt guilty for teaching the genjutsu to Karin, but she knew that without it, Karin would have been the one lying dead on the arena floor.

Some of the medics went to Karin and carried her out of the arena.

"Karin is the winner." They heard the proctor grunt out.

The crowd cheered, but it was a forced action.

Sakura merely stared down at the bloodied arena, before she looked to the Mizukage. He was watching a group of shinobi place a sheet over Keiichi's body before they took it out of the arena on a stretcher. His owl flew over them, letting out a wailing cry as it tried to follow its master.

Shinju's hands were clenched as she stared down at her student. She seemed to be the only one saddened by the events, as the Mizukage merely sighed softly, "What a loss…"

"I am sorry that the battle could not be stopped earlier." Tsunade murmured to the Mizukage. "But with genjutsu, it is always unknown if the victim will break free or not. That is why no one stopped the battle until Karin released the genjutsu."

The Mizukage merely shrugged. "His talent will be missed. But shinobi die in battle all the time. If they are to become Chuunin, they must learn that the loss of one's life is a common reality."

Shinju's eyes flickered to the Mizukage, but she said nothing, merely looked back down at the arena, eyes glistening with unshed tears. Keiichi's owl flew up and landed on her shoulder. She murmured soothingly to it, stroking its feathers.

"Of course." Tsunade said stiltedly, looking uncomfortable.

Gaara merely turned to Sakura, not looking surprised at the outcome of the fight, "You taught her that genjutsu…didn't you?"

The other kages and their bodyguards turned to Sakura in surprise. She merely nodded stoically. "As her sensei, it is my duty to prepare her for this Exam. She asked for a powerful genjutsu that Keiichi's owl would not be able to sense. I taught her one."

There was another moment of awkward silence, before the Mizukage merely turned back to the arena and the other kages did so, though a bit more hesitantly, gazes lingering on the silent, pink-haired kunoichi.

"Well, it seems the battle we have all been wating to see is next." The Raikage cleared his throat, looking displeased with the fact that he had been wrong with his prediction of the battle, and also unnerved with Gaara's emotionless stare. He merely looked back at the screen behind him. The others did so as well…and Sakura let out the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding.

Uchiha Sasuke vs. Higa Yasu

* * *

"Oh man…" Juro managed to croak out. "What the hell did that bitch do to him?"

All of the genin in the balcony remained silent. A few of the young ones were busy throwing up or turning sickly shades of green as they tried _not_ to vomit.

"What a pity. I thought that you would die before he did, Juro." Yasu murmured, giving a soft sigh. "But really…to be bested by someone such as that girl…and she collapsed afterwards too. She couldn't even handle her own genjutsu. Did you see the way she cried? Pathetic."

"Hey!" Suigetsu snarled, eyes narrowing as he turned to look at Yasu. He was pale and shaking from the scene he had just witnessed, but he merely glared at her. "Don't you dare talk about her like that. If anyone is a bitch here, it's _you_!"

Juro's eyes widened in horror. No one had ever insulted Yasu and lived. The air seemed to chill, even in the heat. Suigetsu swallowed as Yasu took a step towards him. She was stopped, however, as Sasuke stepped in front of Suigetsu, his own face emotionless.

"Do not insult my teammates, Higa."

Yasu merely gave a derisive snort.

"Our match has just been called." Sasuke continued, and his eyes flickered crimson before becoming dark onyx once more, and an excited smirk spread across his face.

Yasu let out a low, dark laugh. "Finally. Let's go…Uchiha…" And she jumped off of the balcony and landed in the pool of blood Keiichi had left behind. She didn't seem bothered by it as it splattered across the hem of her cloak.

Sasuke landed a few feet away, one hand resting casually against the hilt of his sword.

The proctor coughed into his hand, before croaking out, "Begin!"

Neither Sasuke or Yasu moved. The arena was quiet, even the civilians seemed to see that this match deserved their utmost attention.

Another harsh, warm breeze blew through the arena, making the ends of Sasuke's hair flutter across his face and the white tags on Yasu's kasa to flutter, the bell chiming eerily.

And then Yasu let out a harsh laugh, reaching up and undoing the edge of her cloak, letting it fall to the ground, soaking up Keiichi's blood. And then she took off her kasa, letting it fall to the ground as well.

She looked normal, with pale skin and long, black hair that fluttered around her wildly in the breeze. Her full, red lips were tilted up in a vicious smile. Her left arm was wrapped heavily in white gauze from shoulder to fingertips. And then Sasuke's gaze flickered to her eyes and he immediately tore his gaze away, his own onyx eyes widening a bit in surprise.

They were completely pupil-less, but not in the same way as the Hyuuga Byakugan. Instead they were pitch black, like a void. And Sasuke was almost sure that if he reached forward and placed his fingers into her eye sockets they would pass right through with no resistance. Did she even have eyes at all?

Yes, she must have, if she used a doujutsu as Sakura said.

Sasuke swallowed, knowing that if he looked into Yasu's eyes her own doujutsu would activate. She merely reached towards her left arm with her right hand, and tugged at knot in the bandages, undoing it.

"Let's not play around here, Uchiha…it would be useless to not take this seriously from the beginning. It would also…vex me if you didn't fight me as if your life depended on it." And she grinned maniacally, showing off perfectly white teeth. "Because Uchiha, it does indeed."

And the bandage fell away.

* * *

"What the…" Temari gasped out, leaning over the railing of the kage booth. "What the hell is wrong with that girl's arm?"

"It's…" Shizune put a hand to her mouth, eyes wide. "…it's…"

Sakura swallowed, and merely stared down at the scene in front of her, as the Mizukage chuckled softly, apparently amused at their horrified expressions.

"Yasu has _barely_ begun to…surprise you."

Yasu's left arm…was nothing but a skeletal appendage attached to skin. At the shoulder it hung by muscle and tissue, stained crimson as sinew ran down a few inches. The rest of the arm was pure bone, and she curled her fingers, and the bones clicked as they rubbed against one another.

"That should not be humanly possible." One of the Raikage's guards choked out.

Tsunade shook her head. "Medically it could be done. Any good medic-nin would be able to force chakra through the bone, creating a secondary chakra passageway to connect the bones and give the user the ability to manipulate the arm and the chakra inside of it as if it were normal."

Shizune and Sakura nodded.

"Ah yes, true." The Mizukage nodded. "When Yasu was very young her arm was…severed. But as you can see, we had a talented enough medic-nin to fix that problem for her."

"What about her eyes?" Temari croaked out. "What the hell is that? Some kind of doujutsu?"

It was Shinju who answered her question, her voice barely above a whisper.

"The oujougan."

* * *

"Let's do this, Uchiha." Yasu laughed again, and he saw black chakra swirl around her skeletal arm. She began a set of rapid hand signs with both hands, "Water style: black mist!" And she slowly disintegrated into a black smoke-like substance, and the entire arena filled with the mist.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he activated his Sharingan, unsheathing his sword in one swift movement, blocking the kunai that was thrown at him. It hit the ground with a soft thud, and he whirled around, slamming his sword into Yasu's body.

She let out a cry before she melted to the ground, the crimson liquid she had become splattering across Sasuke's face, making him wrinkle his nose a bit at the metallic stench.

_A blood clone? Is that even possible?_

"The Oujougan is the kekkei genkai of the Higa Clan. It allows Yasu to…force death into the minds of anyone who meets her eyes."

* * *

Sasuke kept his head down as he slashed at the multiple clones that continued to bombard him with kunai. He could barely see in the thick mist and he gritted his teeth as blood continued to soak his clothing.

* * *

"Normal shinobi and civilians will usually go insane and try to kill themselves after meeting her gaze."

Sakura remembered the time at the beginning of the second stage of the Exam when Shinju had met Yasu's gaze. She had flinched and her hand had gone for her kunai. Sakura had thought it was to attack Yasu, but could Yasu's jutsu have made it so that Shinju had actually meant to use the kunai on herself?

* * *

"Grand fireball jutsu." Sasuke muttered, breathing in deeply before fire erupted from his lips, bathing the black mist in a golden glow. The mist evaporated quickly, the sound of hissing steam filling the arena before it cleared away.

Yasu was standing a few feet away, a large burn mark on her right shoulder. She snarled at him, but Sasuke continued to avoid eye contact. Sakura had continued to tell him that at all costs, he must not look into her eyes. And he was starting to believe that Sakura's fears were well founded.

* * *

"Anyone who holds a doujutsu however…that is where the oujougan is the most powerful. It incinerates the victim's doujutsu, blinding them. It causes their eyes to burn from the inside out. And even if the eyes were to somehow be healed, their doujutsu would no longer work. Ever. And the pain, the feeling of their eyes being burned out of their heads, will be constant. It can never be taken away."

Sakura knew. That was why she had upgraded the seal she had placed over Takumi's eyes, to keep the pain at bay as long as it remained there.

* * *

"Why don't you look at me, Uchiha?" Yasu taunted. "Don't you want to test our doujutsu? Don't you want to see which one is more powerful?"

Sasuke merely grunted, feeling energy shoot through his sword as he placed his chidori inside of it.

"I thought that you believed the Sharingan was the most powerful eye jutsu there was…but I must have been mistaken. You're afraid aren't you?" And she let out a shrill laugh as she threw three more kunai with deadly precision, which he dodged, before he twisted to the side as she appeared in front of him.

He let out a small grunt as her boned fingers cut into his arm, slicing through the skin and digging deep enough to hit his own bone.

He merely jumped away from her, getting into a defensive crouch.

"Or perhaps you've been warned about my technique by your pink-haired bitch of a sensei, is that it?"

Sasuke saw red as he let out a small growl from deep in his throat, lunging forward. Yasu twisted away from his blade, but hissed as several strands of black hair fell to the ground and a small line appeared on her cheek, blood welling out of the cut and dripping down her face.

She put a hand to it, black eyes wide in shock, before they narrowed in anger. "You will pay for that, Uchiha…but before we continue with this fight…I have a little business to take care of." And she began rapid hand signs, her grin becoming feral and demonic.

"Higa secret technique: blood barrier."

Chakra swirled around her, black with streaks of crimson twisting inside of it. The chakra shot from her body and ran up the sides of the arena, encircling the entire building before any of the shinobi could react.

She let out a low laugh. "You're trapped here…all of you."

* * *

"What is the meaning of this?" Tsunade roared, standing, even as she, the Tsuchikage, Gaara, and their bodyguards pulled out weapons. Sakura, Baki, Shizune, Temari, and the Tsuchikage's two shinobi made protective circles around their kages.

"Calm yourself, Hokage-sama…" The Mizukage stood slowly, almost lazily, as his shinobi pulled out their weapons. "This will be over soon."

And the Raikage laughed softly as he stood as well, motioning to his own shinobi. "Let the invasion begin."

* * *

**(A\N: -coughs-ok you KNEW it was coming. You all knew I was going to end it with a cliffhanger and that SOMEONE was going to screw up the Chuunin exams with an invasion. You can blame my flu for the evil cliffhanger however. XD Well, I hope you all liked it. Yasu and Sasuke's battle will continue in the next chapter…as will the attack of Mist and Cloud. What of Stone, you ask? Well, you'll just have to see. :D Will they help Konoha or Mist? Anyway, until the next time…**

**See ya!**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka**

**p.s. oujougan means death eye, if I translated it correctly. Hopefully I did.)**


	24. Chapter 23: Illusions of Paradise

**(A\N: This chapter is a nice birthday present for my dear friend D.A.Nico (most of you know her as the other author of Aphotic Triumvirate). Yes, the present is a little late but…enjoy it anyway! :D Oh, and the rest of you can think D.A.Nico for getting me to update this so quickly too. :D)**

* * *

"_What is the meaning of this?" Tsunade roared, standing, even as she, the Tsuchikage, Gaara, and their bodyguards pulled out weapons. Sakura, Baki, Shizune, Temari, and the Tsuchikage's two shinobi made protective circles around their kages._

"_Calm yourself, Hokage-sama…" The Mizukage stood slowly, almost lazily, as his shinobi pulled out their weapons. "This will be over soon."_

_And the Raikage laughed softly as he stood as well, motioning to his own shinobi. "Let the invasion begin."_

**Chapter 23**

**Illusions of Paradise**

* * *

I made a choice that I regret  
now what I see is what I get  
it's too late to look back  
I've got no way to switchback  
it's too late to look back  
ain't ok I've got no way to switchback  
wait, how can it be too late  
because I don't want to play  
with such a price to pay  
chained to what I can't reclaim  
I'll never be the same  
won't be the same again  
a painful picture that I can't forget  
now what I see is what I get

Switchback by Celldweller

_Fuck._

That was the only word running through Suigetsu's mind as the civilian crowd broke into screams as shinobi erupted from the stands of the arena, some mist-nin, some cloud-nin, and some leaf-nin. He immediately swung his sword around, pointing it in Juro's direction. "Step away from the kids, asshole."

Suigetsu took a step to the side to try and block the other young genin from Juro's view. The children were frozen with fear and shock at the moment.

Juro merely grinned. "This is our chance to fight, eh?"

_Fuck._

They were all trapped in the arena until Sasuke did something to make the Yasu bitch undo the barrier. That meant they had little room to fight without endangering civilians. In fact, Sakura and the Hokage wouldn't be able to use their techniques—_oh _fuck_! They did this on purpose!_ Suigetsu snarled, gripping his sword tightly. Sakura and Tsunade wouldn't be able to use their infamous strength without the fear of hurting civilians. In fact, _all_ of the Konoha-nin and their allies would be hard put not to hurt any of the civilians in their fight, while the other shinobi wouldn't care at all.

They were already at a disadvantage and they hadn't even started to fight.

Suddenly there was a flash and Suigetsu snarled, leaping in front of the other genin. The genin screamed as blood slowly dripped to the ground. Juro stood in front of him, digging a kunai deeper into Suigetsu's shoulder.

"Dammit!" Suigetsu roared as he swung his sword. Juro jumped backwards out of harm's way, and the edge of the zanbato dug into the stone. The impact made sparks fly as the metal shrieked and groaned.

Suigetsu pulled the kunai from his shoulder and glared at Juro, ready to swing his sword again.

"Come on, Sugietsu." Juro leapt up onto the balcony railing, "There's enough room down there for two fights." He pointed with his eyes at the arena floor where Yasu and Sasuke were currently fighting. Then he jumped down, and Suigetsu let out a loud curse.

"Dammit!" He looked back to the cowering genin. "You kids! Stay here and don't do anything stupid!"

And then he leapt off of the balcony as well, his sword in hand.

* * *

_That is IT. We are never hosting the Chuunin Exams again. EVER. _Tsunade thought angrily as her hands began to glow green. Below them in the stands their own shinobi were trying to fight off the mist-nin and cloud-nin while dodging the panicked civilians.

_Dammit why can't those people calm down and get the hell out of the shinobi's way!?_ She hissed silently, amber eyes hardened and glaring at the Mizukage and Raikage. She saw Shizune stiffen, hand edging towards her hidden poison needle launcher underneath her sleeve, eyes narrowed in the direction of the Tsuchikage.

Even if this Tsuchikage was a new one who had been recently appointed and was more inclined to act peacefully towards Konoha, none of the leaf-nin or sand-nin were quite certain if they should trust him or not. At the moment there were enemies everywhere, and Tsunade wasn't going to take any chances.

She merely clenched her fists. "You made a mistake, Mizukage-dono, Raikage-dono. Konoha will not fall."

"That is your opinion." The Raikage drawled, giving a short laugh. "But we have a few tricks up our sleeves."

_They still think that we don't know about the tunnels, _Sakura thought, almost smiling a bit before she took a step forward, hiding Tsunade from the other kages' view. Temari came up beside her, while Baki took a position at Gaara's left. The two kages were now protected and surrounded on all sides.

Her eyes locked with Shinju's, and she saw something flicker in those dark depths. Regret perhaps? She didn't know. All she knew was that the two of them would definitely get their fight.

_Tsunade-shishou and I are at a disadvantage here. We can't use our strength. That means shishou is going to have to rely on her medical jutsu and I'll have to focus on my genjutsu, since my fire jutsu will be useless against Shinju's water style._

"I see you're going to side with Konoha, Kazekage-dono." The Mizukage murmured. "That is a fatal mistake."

"In your opinion." Gaara answered back stoically.

Sakura merely pressed a finger to her com-link. "Ibiki. This is a Stage 3 lockdown. Begin preparations immediately."

"What happened, Haruno?" Anko's voice called over the intercome, furious. She sounded like she was panting and Sakura could hear the clashing of metal and screams of pain in the background.

"We're trapped inside of the arena. One of the mist-nin has made a barrier. Until we can break it we cannot offer you any assistance."

"Understood." Ibiki's voice called again. "Jiraiya-san has called for silence over the com-system unless there is an emergency. Someone might be listening in on our frequency."

"Of course."

Jiraiya would be in charge of all of the forces outside of the arena. They had planned for something of this sort, though it had been thought that only the Hokage and Kazekage would be trapped and they would need someone else to lead in that period of time. The fact that the whole arena was trapped was bad.

Very bad.

And as she had been distracted with her talk over the intercom the Raikage's shinobi had lunged—and all hell broke loose on the kage balcony.

* * *

"DAMMIT! Get some shinobi to the daimyos! Someone has to protect them!" Naruto yelled out as he flipped backwards, avoiding the scimitar-like blade of one of the mist-nin.

"Hai!" Some of the Chuunin yelled out before disappearing from Naruto's side to do as he had directed.

"Multi shadow clone jutsu!" He yelled out, and only just managed to dodge a volley of kunai and shuriken. He grabbed onto one of his clones, launching himself onto its shoulders before jumping off, flipping in the air and landing behind the scimitar-wielding mist-nin. He slammed his kunai into the base of the man's head, severing the spinal chord and letting him fall to the ground before turning to his next opponent.

He felt someone bump into his back and turned quickly to see a flash of blonde. Ino looked back at him and gave a small grin before pulling out several kunai. "This is just great! We can't hurt the civilians and they're running around everywhere! It's hard to recognize who's a shinobi and who isn't!"

"Yeah." Naruto grunted, before he ducked and Ino swung her kunai, catching the throat of the man who had lunged for Naruto. Naruto felt the crimson liquid splatter across the back of his jacket and grunted.

Ino finally pressed a hand to her com-link and shouted, "What the hell is with invading Konoha during the freakin' Chuunin exams!?"

Naruto almost grinned at her outburst, but merely grabbed the other blonde and pulled her to the side, away from the attack of another mist-nin.

"At least they don't have any water." Naruto finally muttered.

"Yeah." Ino grinned, and was about to say something more when a loud voice roared in their ears.

"Gatsuga!"

The five mist-nin and cloud-nin that had surrounded Naruto and Ino were alternatively torn to shreds or thrown onto the wall with the power of Kiba's technique as he and Akamaru landed on the ground beside the two blondes.

"Sorry it took so long to get over here." Kiba gave them a feral grin. "But Akamaru and I had to dodge all of the civilians. Do you have any idea how hard it is to leap throw crowds of panicking people while dodging lightening attacks?"

Akamaru gave a bark of agreement.

"Who else is in the arena with us?" Ino yelled over the screams of the civilians and the clash of metal.

"Akamaru and me can smell some Konoha shinobi, but not any of them that we reocognize."

"Then how can you know they're Konoha shinobi?" Ino asked, brow furrowed a bit even as she gave a battle cry and slammed her leg into the back of one of the mist-nin, sending him flying.

"Konoha shinobi vests have a different smell to them." Kiba explained, before he and Akamaru formed their man-beast clone combo to begin another gatsuga. "It's some kind of dye used in the coloring." And then he grinned. "Come on boy!"

Then he and Akamaru launched into the crowd once more.

"Damn. Where's Shikamaru?" Naruto finally asked.

"He's either outside of the arena or inside the stairwells." Ino cursed under her breath. "We need to get me to another shinobi. I can't use my technique unless I have someone to watch my body."

"I've got you covered Ino. Go on." Naruto grinned.

Ino looked hesitant for a moment, before she nodded. "Alright." Then she began her mind transfer jutsu, and her body fell limp. One of Naruto's clones caught her and Naruto noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that one of the cloud-nin had stiffened for a moment. Then he looked back at Naruto and grinned before disappearing into the crowd.

"Alright. Let's do this." Naruto let out a deep breath, before molding chakra around a kunai, like Asuma had taught him.

* * *

Sasuke just figured it was bad karma that every time he tried to fight in the chuunin exam he was interrupted.

He leapt backwards, his sandaled feet digging into the earth, causing a cloud of dust to lift into the air around him. Summers in Konoha had always been too hot for his liking.

He briefly realized that Suigetsu and Yasu's teammate had landed in the fighting arena as well. But they were of little importance, as he unsheathed his sword, still making sure not to make eye contact with Yasu.

There would be no way she could escape his attack. Even without using his Sharingan's full abilities he would still be able to kill her. And then he would be one step closer to killing his brother. But before he killed her he would need to get information about the Akatsuki out of her.

His eyes narrowed a bit as he dodged another one of Yasu's swipes with her bone claws.

_Sakura is an interrogater. She could get the information out of Yasu for me._

He smirked, realizing that his pink-haired medic-nin was really becoming an asset to him.

"A sword isn't going to work against me, Uchiha." Yasu sneered, and he could see the perfect whiteness of her teeth, in stark contrast to her blood red lips. He merely 'hn'd.

Then he lunged forward, faster than the normal eye could see, faster than Yasu could dodge. The electric current of his Chidori ran down the blade's length as he neared her. She pulled out a kunai, void-like eyes seemingly wider than normal as she flinched in surprise at his movement.

Sasuke's smirk widened. "That's the wrong way to block my technique." And he swung his sword forward, slicing through the kunai blade cleanly, his sword digging into Yasu's shoulder. She let out a shriek of pain and Sasuke's eyes narrowed in satisfaction. Yes, if this was the almighty power of the Akatsuki—even if she was merely a servant—than he would have no problem dealing with Itachi.

But suddenly Yasu's scream of pain began to mutate, and she was laughing, shoulders shaking with her mirth as the electric current ran around her. Sasuke blinked as he saw her clawed bone hand wrap around his blade, the bones tightening as she held the blade in a crushing grip.

"If you want to kill me Uchiha…make sure to hit me in the heart. Otherwise you're never going to hurt me at all."

And his blade shattered.

His crimson eyes widened in surprised, and for a brief moment—he looked up into Yasu's face.

Their eyes met.

But luckily for Sasuke the force of Yasu shattering the tip of his sword caused him to stumble backwards a few feet. His body was already in motion before his mind could comprehend what had just happened.

He could feel his eyes burning as he blinked. They felt as if they were on fire—didn't Sakura say that Yasu's doujutsu burned and eradicated other doujutsu?—and he gritted his teeth at the pain. But it slowly began to subside and he let out a deep breath. His eyes hadn't met hers long enough to do any real damage.

He cursed himself for his mistake and swore he would never make it again, as he held his broken sword in front of him.

"Sasuke…"

Sasuke's eyes widened at the soft sound of the voice in front of him. He looked up slowly, a small whisper making its way passed his lips.

"…mother…?"

* * *

"DIE DAMMIT!" Suigetsu snarled, swinging his sword in a wide arc. Juro leapt into the air to dodge it, and Suigetsu changed the direction of his blade's swing to hit him as he came down.

The blade cleaved him in half, and Suigetsu almost smiled before the two halves turned to water. Water clone.

He growled deep in his throat before Juro appeared to his right. "Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!"

"Shit!" Suigetsu flipped backwards as a large column of water shot at him—how the hell had Juro summoned it? Karin had told him that Juro specialized in water style—no shit he was from Mist after all—and that he had a lot of chakra. But seriously…enough to use such a powerful water technique without having a water source nearby?

Suigetsu merely leapt forward, grinning, channeling chakra into his sword as another column of water shot at him. He slammed his sword forward and it sliced cleaning through it, the water flowing on either side of Suigetsu as he continued forward, sword still raised.

Water rained down on them, turning the soft dirt of the arena to mud.

Juro dodged to the side just as Suigetsu swung his sword, and he let out a hiss as it hit the armor covering his right shoulder. The armor cracked and shattered, and blood dripped down his arm.

"Fuck you." Juro hissed out. "You…fucking…bastard…" He suddenly gave his own grin. "You don't realize just how much danger you're in, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

Juro merely sneered. "Look over there. At the Uchiha." His own eyes flickered in their direction. Suigetsu risked a small glance—and froze at the sight. "What the hell is he doing!?" He was staring at something, reaching for it, a look Suigetsu had never seen before on his face.

"It's Yasu's most powerful technique. People say that her oujougan causes people to kill themselves…but that's not what it really does. The victim still has a choice. They're just…persuaded."

"What the hell do you mean?"

"It's not called the death eye for nothing, idiot." Juro laughed. "Right now I suspect he's seeing someone very close to him that's dead. And since he's the last surviving Uchiha, I'm guessing its his parents."

"That's sick." Suigetsu snarled. "But you forget, he's got the Sharingan. He can see through illusions."

Juro sneered. "Is that what you think? This technique is Yasu's most POWERFUL. He looked into her eyes, if only for a second. That's how it works. He can't _use_ his Sharingan, but he _thinks_ that he can."

Suigetsu paled slightly. "But then…"

"It's not a genjutsu to him. It's real."

"Dammit!" Suigetsu made to run towards his partner. He needed to snap Sasuke out of the illusion! He was stopped, however, as Juro spoke.

"Water Release: Exploding Water Shockwave!"

"WHAT!?" Suigetsu yelled in pure shock, as Juro sucked in a deep breath before water erupted from his mouth. Only Hoshigaki Kisame could use that technique! He didn't have time to think about it, however, as he leapt into the air to avoid the crashing waves that filled the arena.

Also, the sound of Juro's next attack only shocked him even more.

"Water Style: Clinging Grand Whirlpool!"

_What the hell? That attack can only be done with Samehada!_ Suigetsu's eyes became larger as he saw Juro finish his hand signs, slamming a small blade into the roaring waters beneath him.

Then the water began swirling. Suigetsu landed on the arena wall, out of the water's reach for the moment. But then his eyes widened again and he paled as he realized that while Yasu was leaning against the arena wall like himself, Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.

"FUCK!"

* * *

Karin gave a soft gasp as her eyes shot open and she sat up quickly. Everything was blurry and white. She looked around, noticing people standing around her bed and several others beds like hers, all wearing medical uniforms.

_I'm in the infirmary inside of the arena._ Karin swallowed, looking down at her hands. She had killed Keiichi with the genjutsu…Sakura had explained the basics of what the genjutsu would do to the victim but…Karin hadn't expected _that_. It was…too horrible to describe.

But she couldn't think of that right now, because suddenly her entire body seemed to freeze up and chakra filled her brain. She let out a pained gasp as she clutched her head, forcing her abilities to subside and return to normal. What on earth could have been happening above her? It felt as if hundreds of chakra signatures were spiking and she could sense jutsus being used right and left. It was confusing and was giving her a headache. So she slowly turned off thinking about all the chakra signatures until she could only sense the few she usually kept in her mind: Sasuke, Suigetsu, and Sakura.

Sakura's chakra was currently dulled—she was using a genjutsu and a medical jutsu at the moment. Suigetsu wasn't using a jutsu, so his chakra signature was normal. And Sasuke's chakra was—her eyes widened and she let out a small gasp. What the hell was he doing? His chakra was blazing.

Her almost inaudible gasp had caught the attention of the shinobi that had been whispering at the door. "You're awake."

Karin nodded, brow furrowing in confusion. "What the hell is going on up there?"

"We're being attacked." One of the medics answered her. "Mist and Cloud are trying to invade Konoha."

Karin paled. So that was why all the chakra signatures were erratic. Everyone was fighting. And here she was…useless…

"The chuunin are being ordered to get the civilians down here safely so that the other shinobi can fight the enemy nin in the arena." One of the medics turned to the one that Karin guessed was their leader. "What should we do?"

"I don't know."

"But people are being hurt! It's our duty to go up there and help them!"

"We can't leave the patients down here unguarded!" The head medic snapped. "What if some of the enemy-nin are hiding inside of the stairwells and come here to finish off the injured?"

"But…"

"I'll guard them." Karin cut in.

There was a moment of silence as the medics looked over to her once more, as if they had forgotten she was there in the first place.

"I can put up a genjutsu around us." Karin finally spoke, seeing their confused faces, as a way of explanation.

One of them gave a small sneer. "Do you really expect us to leave one of Orochimaru's subboordinates here with all these injured shinobi?"

Karin stiffened.

"True. For all we know you could be working with them. Maybe this is all a trap."

"It isn't!" Karin snapped. "Listen, you guys are needed out there!"

"We can't leave you here alone with them—"

"I'll stay."

Everyone turned to the shinobi standing in the doorway. Karin remembered him vaguely from the party that Sasuke's old friends had thrown him after their trial.

"Shikamaru-san…" One of them began, but Shikamaru merely sighed, "Look. I need to be in a safe, quiet space to think. We're being attacked and it's my job to find some way to get this damn barrier out of here. I need her help." With his he jerked his head in Karin's direction. "So I need to be here anyway. Go on. The chuunin are carrying the injured inside as we speak. You have a lot of work ahead of you."

The medics hesitated for a second longer before they nodded and ran out the door. Shikamaru closed it behind him slowly before he walked over to Karin and sat down on the edge of her bed. "I don't think we've ever been properly introduced. And as much as I hate formalities I guess it would be rude if I didn't tell you my name. I'm Nara Shikamaru."

"Karin."

Shikamaru nodded. "Alright, I want you to put up the genjutsu around this room like you said earlier. It's easier for me to think if I don't have people bursting through the door trying to kill me."

Karin nodded as she slowly stood, feeling a mild soreness through her body. None of the medics here were apparently as good as Sakura, but they had got the job done. She merely placed her hand on the door and did a few hand signs, before pulling away and turning to Shikamaru once more. "Alright. Now what?"

He wasn't paying any attention to her, or that's how it looked anyway. He had his eyes closed and his hands were placed in front of him in a weird sign. She didn't recognize it as a hand sign at all, and her brow furrowed a bit. "What are you—"

"Shhh."

Karin gave a huff of indignation at being ordered around by him but said nothing, merely leaned against the bed opposite the one he was sitting on. She didn't like the oppressive silence, as she looked over at the sleeping invalids dotting the room, and listening to the muffled yells and shouts from above them.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Shikamaru spoke. "You sense chakra, right?"

"Yes."

"Can you locate a specific jutsu that's in place for me?"

"Of course." Karin said haughtily, and Shikamaru merely opened one eye to look at her.

"I want you to locate and identify the chakra of the barrier surrounding the arena."

Karin nodded, swallowing as she closed her own eyes, beginning a set of hand signs. She had felt the strange chakra enveloping everything before, but had thought maybe it was a protective genjutsu that the Konoha shinobi had put up. But now that she really looked at it…

Karin's eyes shot open. "YASU!"

Shikamaru grunted. "Yeah, it's hers. I need you to tell me everything you can about it. Does it have any weak spots?"

Karin frowned, before she closed her eyes and opened her senses once more. "The barrier itself has no weaknesses. It's relatively consistent. But…there is one spot of the barrier that is _stronger_ than the others."

"Where?"

"It's pinpointed at—"

* * *

Sakura gritted her teeth as she flipped backwards, barely missing Shinju's blade. The damn woman had went straight for her and she and Sakura were currently having a sword fight on the roof of the kage balcony. This sword fight consisted of Sakura dodging Shinju's blows and blocking them with her kunai, since she herself didn't use a sword.

Shinju got into a crouch, her fingertips resting on the edge of her blade in a stance that Sakura did not recognize. "I am disappointed, Sakura-san. I had thought you would be a strong opponent."

"Che." Sakura spat a bit of blood from her mouth—Shinju had kicked her in the stomach earlier—and twirled her kunai on her finger. "If it weren't for Yasu's barrier than I would show you my strength."

"Ah yes, you are Tsunade's student aren't you?" Shinju smiled softly—it wasn't an unkind smile either. She truly looked as if she didn't wish Sakura ill. "I am not fond of the jutsu either, but if the Mizukage orders it than so shall it be."

She lunged, her sword seeming to become merely an extension of her right arm.

Sakura parried with her kunai, and the sound of metal grinding against metal echoed. Sakura merely looked into Shinju's calm eyes with her own emotionless ones. "I still cannot understand why you follow the Mizukage anyway. Your file says you're one of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of the Mist."

Shinju nodded, still pressing her weight on Sakura, causing Sakura's feet to slide a few inches on the roof.

"Indeed. But my loyalty was first and foremost towards my village. You can understand that, I am sure."

Sakura merely pushed with chakra-laced arms, and Shinju took a step backwards to keep from tripping, her sandals clicking softly against the ceramic roof tiles.

Shinju twirled her blade around and Sakura dodged, but not before the blade caught her thigh, slicing it. She winced. Shinju was faster than she was. And a lower level genjutsu wouldn't work on her…Sakura's eyes flickered before she breathed in deeply.

"Illusion technique: Mastery of the Fifth Paradise."

It was one of the only genjutsu of hers that she had not wanted to show Karin because of how dangerous it could be.

But there was one difference between this genjutsu and the kind that she had taught Karin. The genjutsu itself, while rare and known by only the highest ranking genjutsu wielders, was only c-rank. It was ranked this because it did not harm the user. It did not cause them to harm themselves or others. It did not show them their worse nightmares.

In fact, it was probably the kindest genjutsu of all.

It showed…paradise, as its name suggested.

Perfection at its finest, whatever the perfect world of its victim was, it recreated it flawlessly.

It wasn't a difficult genjutsu to release on its own.

But when in paradise, who wished to go back to the real world? That was its strong point. But the reason it was a dangerous genjutsu and only taught to the masters was because of its one flaw. The flaw that Kurenai had taught her well when she had bestowed this jutsu upon Sakura.

One wrong move, even now as she held the genjutsu over Shinju, and she would be sent into the illusion as well. It took perfect concentration. If she so much as let her concentration waver in the slightest then she would be sent into her own paradise and unable to escape from it.

Sakura saw Shinju's eyes dim a bit, brow furrowed in confusion before it relaxed. Her body slackened and her sword dropped to the ground from lax fingers.

* * *

"The other Mist-nin…not the one Sakura is fighting. There's another one." Karin gasped out. "His chakra is sluggish and slow—I think he's meditating or something. He's just…he's feeding the barrier!"

"So this Yasu girl doesn't have enough chakra to fight Sasuke and hold up the barrier at the same time…" Shikamaru murmured.

"I wondered why Yasu's chakra supply didn't seem to be lowering." Karin muttered. "The bitch wasn't using her own chakra at all! I should have noticed the threads of the other mist-nin's chakra in the barrier sooner…"

Shikamaru merely stood, pressing a hand to his com-link. "You must kill the Mizukage's bodyguard, the one who seems to be meditating! He's the one feeding chakra to the barrier!"

* * *

"You must kill the Mizukage's bodyguard, the one who seems to be mediating!" Shikamaru's voice echoed across the com-link system. "He's the one feeding chakra to the barrier!"

Baki looked over at Temari, who was the closest to the Mizukage's bodyguards from her fight with one of the Raikage's men. "Temari! Kill the Mizukage's bodyguard! He's holding up the barrier!"

Temari nodded.

"Stop them!" The Raikage ordered, seeing that the Mizukage was caught up in his own battle with the Kazekage, dodging sand as he went, summoning a water dragon to drill into Gaara's sand shield.

Temari swung her fan, but let out a yelp as electricity shot through her arms, paralyzing them. The fan fell to the ground with a clatter and the cloud-nin she had been fighting grinned. "It's no use. The barrier will not fall."

Temari hissed out a curse as she tried to dodge him, her arms still not working completely. Baki was fighting the other Cloud-nin bodyguard. Tsunade was fighting the Raikage and Shizune was too far away to do anything, and they had planned on using her as a back-up for any of the other fights.

_Dammit!_ Temari wailed silently. There was no way they could get to the guy! He was too well guarded. They'd never be able to break down the barrier in time—

The sound of rock and bone shattering caused Temari—and all the others in the vicinity—to freeze, even if only for a second. The mist-nin bodyguard let out a choked gurgle from where he was pinned against the side of the wall, blood spurting from his stomach. A large, spiked war hammer had been the culprit, as was the burly Stone-nin who had wielded it.

"What the…?" Temari could only blink, and the Cloud-nin who she had been fighting seemed to be unable to do anything else either.

The Stone-nin merely pulled his weapon out of the man's stomach and hefted it easily onto his shoulder. Behind him stood the Tsuchikage, whose face was grave and stern.

"Why…?" The Raikage asked, looking at him. Tsunade seemed to be just as surprised, the shock almost making her lose control on her chakra scalpel jutsu.

"We are honorable in our fights." The Tsuchikage growled. "If we want war, we will declare it." Tsunade saw the hatred for Konoha glittering in his eyes and knew that he was not doing this out of love for the Village Hidden in the Leaves. "If we are going to destroy the village of the cursed Yellow Flash then we will do it ourselves, not with the aid of cowards."

Tsunade almost smiled at that, as she saw the Raikage's eyes narrow and the electricity build in his hands. The barrier would drop soon. That mean Tsunade would be able to finally punch the Raikage like she had wanted to.

"This just doesn't seem to be your day, Raikage-dono."

* * *

Why was his mother here? She was supposed to be dead. Itachi had killed her. And indeed, the woman seemed almost transparent.

His Sharingan blazed in his eyes and he scoured the area for a genjutsu. But there was none. Yasu was at the other end of the arena, eyes narrowed, looking like she was going to attack, but she remained in place.

"You're dead." Sasuke said softly.

His mother nodded. "I am."

"How…?"

"Sasuke…" His mother smiled softly at him. "You have to kill yourself. If you don't, you can't be with me. With your father. We want you here so we can be a family again."

"Mother…"

"Can you do that for me Sasuke? I want us to be a family. Please come with me…" She held out her hand. He saw Yasu standing to the side—why wasn't she attacking him or his mother? But he didn't pay her any attention. He felt his hand going to his kunai pouch, and his other hand slowly dropped his blade. He heard it hit the ground with a soft thump.

Sasuke gave a soft smile as he brought the kunai up to his neck.

And suddenly he heard Yasu let out a sharp curse. He blinked, and his mother's figure flickered. His eyes narrowed as he gripped the kunai tighter, turning to look at Yasu. Something was wrong, he just didn't know what it was yet.

Yasu was breathing heavily, and her hands trembled. She could feel her chakra draining out of her fast. The fucking mist-nin had been killed! Without his chakra there was no way she could hold onto the barrier. If she did she'd die, and then she'd never be able to kill the Uchiha like her master had told her to.

She grabbed a senbon from her pack and dug it into the skin on her arm, carving out the word 'release' on it, before she placed her other hand over it, laced with chakra. "Higa secret technique: blood barrier release!" it ended in a hiss issued from between clenched teeth.

Sasuke blinked, because the genjutsu that had surrounded him slowly faded and the realization that it _was_ a genjutsu finally hit him. How…how had she fooled his Sharingan? It didn't matter. He felt anger humming through his veins, and he tried to shake off the stupor the genjutsu had put him in.

And that was when he was hit by a wall of water.

He let out a choked gasp, water filling his mouth before he shut it. His body slammed against the arena wall and he felt his shoulder snap. He winced a bit, but merely tried to force his body to move.

He had to get to Yasu. She would die for what she had done to him.

But the current of the water changed again, and suddenly he was being sucked away from the wall. He tried to swim against the current but it was too powerful, and he felt his body drifting further and further towards the center of the arena, and he was helpless to stop it.

He could feel a current of chakra through the water, even as his lungs began burning. He opened his mouth and the last of his air was sucked out of him, even as he tried to swim to the surface. His body felt like it was made of lead. Was this still part of Yasu's genjutsu? Why couldn't he move?

His eyesight began dimming.

Would Sakura miss him if he died?

Why did he care?

So weak…his brother had always told him he was too weak to kill…maybe he was right. He couldn't even defeat one of the Akatsuki's servants. He was going to drown to death. What a fitting end for such a pathetic excuse for an Uchiha.

And suddenly he was being dragged to the surface. He let out a choked gasp as much-needed air filled his lungs.

"That genjutsu fucked you up, Sasuke." Suigetsu hissed from beside him, still holding onto Sasuke. He was balancing on the water with his chakra, and Sasuke merely did the same, his mind seeming to clear in an instant.

"Hn."

"Glad to see you're back to normal." Suigetsu muttered. "I risked my ass for you and all you can do is grunt at me."

Sasuke merely wrenched his arm out of Suigetsu's grasp. His eyes became their normal soft onyx for a moment, before he activated his Sharingan once more. He smirked softly. "My Sharingan is back to normal."

"That's great. You wanna kill that bitch over there now? 'Cause I really don't have time to babysit you. That Juro bastard is going down."

Sasuke merely gave a derisive snort, before he began walking towards Yasu, his footsteps on the water calm and stable.

She smiled a sickeningly sweet smile at him before she began her own hand signs, and Sasuke recognized them immedately. " Water style: Water Dragon Projectile Technique."

"Water style: water dragon projectile technique." Sasuke finished smoothly a second later, and Yasu's eyes narrowed as the two large forms leapt from the water's surface and slammed into one another.

"I see…the little Uchiha is just a monkey who likes to copy others. I should have expected this, since you're the student of the Copycat ninja."

Sasuke merely smirked, even as he lunged forward. Yasu did the same.

"Water style: eight eels!" Yasu hissed.

Sasuke began his own hand signs, as the water bubbled and frothed on either side of him.

"Water style: water encampment wall." He drawled, and water shot around him, causing the serpantine bodies of water that had lunged at him to merely hit it and be absorbed by it.

He heard Yasu smile softly. "There is something you seem to have not noticed, Uchiha."

Sasuke's eyes merely narrowed.

"They're _electric_ eels."

Then widened.

Yasu couldn't help but give a loud laugh as she watched Sasuke freeze as the eels wrapped around his water wall, sending jolts of electricity through it. She had leapt up at the exact moment the eels struck, and so the shock didn't hit her.

Apparently Juro had heard her yell out the technique because he had landed on the wall as well, and Suigetsu had followed suit.

Sugietsu's eyes widened as he watched Sasuke's body drift down in the water. _Fuck! What the hell is he doing! That shock couldn't have—oh. _And Suigetsu couldn't help but smirk softly. _I'll just leave him to whatever the hell he's planning. It's time to kill this Juro fucker off. Damn, knowing Sasuke he's had everything planned from the beginning. Che. Figures._

He leapt down onto the water's surface once more, his sword in hand. He swung it, and Juro leapt backwards, flipping in the air to dodge and landing on the water's surface. As he did so, water swirled around his ankles and dragged him under.

He let out a curse before clamping his mouth shut. He hadn't even seen Suigetsu do any hand signs. What kind of water technique was this, anyway?

But he merely forced himself to dodge nimbly to the side as Suigetsu's sword sliced through the water at him. In the water their skills were probably evenly matched. His shoulder wound was still bleeding, staining the water around him a light pink.

He merely launched himself out of the water, placing chakra into his hands and then vaulting up into the air, landing back on the water's surface with his feet. He saw Suigetsu to much the same and couldn't help but grin.

Sugietsu would die sooner than he had thought.

The fool.

He had been in Orochimaru's prison too long. He seemed to have forgotten how Mist-nin fight. He lunged forward, seemingly becoming one with the water as he sped towards where Suigetsu stood. And then he appeared beside him in an instant, grabbing the other startled man's arm.

"Water style: water prison technique."

He saw Suigetsu's eyes widen, before his entire body was enveloped in water.

* * *

"Naruto!"

Naruto heard Kiba's yell of warning and barely dodged the oncoming water attack in time. "Dammit! That Juro bastard just gave the Mist-nin their ammo!" He really couldn't continue like this, not while protecting Ino's body. Luckily the other chuunin in the arena had gotten most of the civilians out of the way.

Kiba and Akamaru were tearing through enemies as fast as they appeared, and unbeknownst to the Cloud-nin and Mist-nin, one of their own seemed to be killing them off one by one as well—courtesy of Ino.

But they were still outnumbered. Suigetsu and Sasuke looked hard put in their fight against Yasu and Juro, although Naruto had stopped paying attention to their battle a long time ago.

But there were just too many enemies here and no way for their own back-up to arrive in time!

"DUCK!"

Naruto didn't recognize the voice but he did as he was told, ducking low and rolling to the side. He saw an arrow shoot through into the wall behind him, and suddenly a Cloud-nin appeared, an arrow in his throat, blood trickling down his chest as he fell.

"Who…?" Naruto looked around before a lithe figure landed in the stands beside him. She was a Stone-nin, judging by her headband, and her gaze was cool and calm. She was holding a bow and was calmly fitting another arrow to the string.

He suddenly recognized her as one of the Tsuchikage's bodyguards. But weren't Stone and Konoha enemies? Why had she saved him. She merely loosed another arrow and it flew across the arena, pinning the hand of a Mist-nin to the wall, giving one of the Konoha shinobi a chance to kill him before he could finish his hand signs.

"Stone will be Konoha's temporary allies until this is over." The woman murmured, her voice deep, eyes glinting as she aimed and shot again fluidly. It seemed as if every shot she made, another enemy shinobi went down.

"How can I trust you?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"I could have let him kill you."

Naruto couldn't help but grin. "True." And then he gathered chakra into his hand and leapt forward into the mob of enemy-nin. "RASENGAN!"

* * *

Yasu looked down at the dark shadow of the Uchiha's body drifting to the bottom of the arena. It was a pity really…he wasn't as strong as she had thought. Oh well…her master had been right. He was nothing like the other Uchiha brother. Just a weak little imitation.

"You really were pathetic." She laughed softly.

"Hn."

Yasu's eyes widened at the sound of a voice behind her, and she let out a startled gasp as blood slowly trickled down the side of her mouth. She looked down to see the broken end of a sword jutting from her chest.

"You said the only way to kill you was to stab you through the heart." His voice was cold and arrogant, his breath heating the shell of her ear.

"…h…ow…?" She asked, even as she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"My chidori current negated the shock of your eels. I merely placed a small genjutsu on you so that you would think I was still sinking beneath the water. I just went down to…retrieve something."

His sword.

That damned sword she had shattered earlier.

"You were an interesting opponent." Sasuke murmured. "But after your initial genjutsu you became quite predictable. You shouldn't rely on your genjutsu so much."

She gave a soft laugh. "Neither should you, Uchiha." And she melted into the water beneath them.

_A water clone._ Sasuke's crimson eyes narrowed to thin slits.

He felt a slight fluctuation in the water behind him and smirked, as Yasu materialized out of the water to his left, lunging forward with her clawed hand swiping at his face, oujougan blazing.

"DIE!"

Sasuke merely twisted to the left, and raised his sword.

There was a moment of silence, as Yasu's eyes widened imperceptibly, and she gave a choked gasp.

Sasuke merely allowed his smirk to grow as he watched her stare at her reflection in the broken edge of his blade.

"N…n-ooo…" She shook her head, still staring at the blade, as if transfixed by the sight of her own eyes. And blood began to trickle from the corners, down her cheeks.

And then she let out an ear-splitting scream.

* * *

Juro smirked, looking over at his captive. "You're dead. And when you die, I'm going to take back Momochi's sword."

Suigetsu merely glared at him from inside the water.

"My clan's technique allows me to force water through your body. I can change the water pressure inside of that prison. How ironic, eh? You've spent most of your life in a tank of water. You might as well die in one."

He saw Suigetsu's eyes narrowed, before they widened in shock as water seemed to squeeze him from all sides.

Yasu's scream made Juro's eyes widen and he stopped the initial jutsu, still keeng Suigetsu locked in the water prison. He looked to the side, and stared in horror as he watched Yasu fall to the ground, clutching her head, screaming.

"What the hell…?"

Yasu was the strongest of their team. How could the Uchiha have done this to her?

And then Yasu lifted up a hand, and he saw the glint of a kunai, before she slit her throat and fell forward into the water.

He could only stare, because surely it wasn't possible. This must have been a genjutsu…he watched as the water surrounding her sinking body turning a deep red, and the Uchiha merely turned to look at him.

And smirked.

Juro swallowed, feeling his body go cold before he heard a soft chuckle in his ear. "You shouldn't let your guard down. It just go you killed."

Juro twisted his head in time to see the upper half of Suigetsu's body flow out of the water prison. He was almost transparent, a liquid blue color, save for his bright eyes that glowed feverishly.

"How…?"

"Fool. I can make myself into water." And then Suigetsu slammed a kunai into his forehead.

* * *

Sakura slowly filled her palm with green chakra. It was true that she could probably just punch Shinju with her chakra-enhanced strength and kill her that way, but that would be too bloody and gruesome.

For some reason Sakura thought that would be an unfitting end for the woman. She respected her as a fellow shinobi, if nothing else.

But she would have to die. So Sakura decided that severing the nerve endings to her brain would do it. It would be like falling asleep. And her last memory would be of the wonderful paradise Sakura had put her in.

A kind end. But then again, Sakura wasn't a cruel person, no matter how much she wanted to believe she was.

Then an unearthly scream pierced the air and Sakura winced. She paled a bit, realizing that her concentration had wavered, and Shinju blinked slowly, one hand raised in a hand sign.

"…release…" She whispered softly, and Sakura silently cursed.

_Fuck!_ Sakura grabbed a kunai, just as Shinju bent down and grabbed her sword, before launching herself backwards and over the wall of the arena.

"Dammit." Sakura hissed out softly as she leapt onto the arena wall herself. She could see the battles below her. Everyone else was doing fine. Gaara and Tsunade could now use their techniques to their fullest, and Sakura could only feel slight pity towards the Raikage and the Mizukage. They were not only outmatched, but with the help of the Tsuchikage they were also outnumbered. And reinforcements from the village were coming into the arena as they spoke.

"Haruno, what is your position?" Anko's voice crackled over the com-link, full of static.

"I'm off to retrieve Team Lotus' target." Sakura murmured, before she jumped off of the arena wall and landed on the ground, her chakra-encased sandals making imprints in the dirt as she landed.

She saw a flicker of sun against steel, reflecting off of Shinju's sword. Her eyes narrowed before she followed her into the forest.

* * *

**(A\N: So? I hope you all liked it. The next chapter will focus more on Sakura's fight, as well as the fights outside of the arena that happened at the same time. See, a lot of you thought Yasu was some amazing powerhouse. :D Guess she's not as great as SHE thought she was either, eh? And I hope you all realize why Sasuke was caught in that genjutsu. He is indeed arrogant and confidant when it comes to his Sharingan, and so he of course thought that if it was a genjutsu he would recognize it. But since his Sharingan was affected by Yasu's oujougan, he didn't know that there was a genjutsu placed on him. And also, because of the genjutsu's power Sasuke was unable to move a bit after it ended, which is why he was caught up in Juro's attack. He couldn't get his body to move fast enough. But he came out on top as arrogant as ever, so everything worked out in the end, lol. **

**Well, until next time, see ya!**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	25. Chapter 24: Death is a Diary

**(A\N: Alright, I just want all of you to know that you have NO idea how painful this chapter was to write. Not just because it's fight scenes and they take me a painstakingly long time to write, but…well…if you've all been reading the Manga I'm sure you know.**

**WTFH? Ugh, seriously, all my respect for Sasuke is gone now. But I am going to try and redeem him in my fanfics and SOMEHOW continue to make Karin a likeable character without letting out my rage on her. –breaths in deeply- it's a difficult task, but I think I can do it. Let's just hope my muse lasts through the rest of this and that Kishi stops pulling his plot out of his ass and starts coming up with something believable. **

**But first…question and answer time with Lady Hanaka! XD I'll try and do this for all the question you guys have for me in the chapters from now on, so if you have a question about this chapter and ask it, look for the answer in chapter 25. :)**

**Q: So what was up with Yasu? I feel like she died too quickly for someone as powerful as you made her out to be.**

**A: Well I guess I was trying to play down her importance a little. While she is indeed important to the plot she is not the most powerful opponent that Sasuke is going to have to fight in the future. Her purpose, actually, is to point out the flaws and weaknesses of relying on a kekkei genkai, especially a doujutsu. This is something that will come back to haunt Sasuke later on, as well all know he loves to rely on his Sharingan. **

**Yasu died quickly because she is (for all intents and purposes) the epitome of the powerful kekkei genkai. I wanted to show that a kekkei genkai does not make a powerful shinobi on its own and that shinobi who rely on their kekkei genkai are actually more prone to weakness and disaster than others who train as hard as they can because they **_**don't**_** have a kekkei genkai. That was Yasu's purpose, in abbreviated form, lol. **

**So here's the next chapter! The big Sakura v Shinju battle that everyone has been waiting for! Enjoy.)**

* * *

**Chapter 24**

**Death is a Diary**

* * *

There's a fine line between love and hate.  
And I don't mind.  
Just let me say that  
I like that  
I like that

Desperate, I will crawl  
Waiting for so long  
No love, there is no love.  
Die for anyone  
What have I become?

excerpts from Diary of Jane by Breaking Benjamin

"_Dammit." Sakura hissed out softly as she leapt onto the arena wall herself. She could see the battles below her. Everyone else was doing fine. Gaara and Tsunade could now use their techniques to their fullest, and Sakura could only feel slight pity towards the Raikage and the Mizukage. They were not only outmatched, but with the help of the Tsuchikage they were also outnumbered. And reinforcements from the village were coming into the arena as they spoke._

"_Haruno, what is your position?" Anko's voice crackled over the com-link, full of static._

"_I'm off to retrieve Team Lotus' target." Sakura murmured, before she jumped off of the arena wall and landed on the ground, her chakra-encased sandals making imprints in the dirt as she landed._

_She saw a flicker of sun against steel, reflecting off of Shinju's sword. Her eyes narrowed before she followed her into the forest._

* * *

Tracking Shinju was harder than Sakura thought it would be. Her chakra signature was wavering in an out in an attempt to throw Sakura off, and it was actually rather effective.

Sakura merely landed on a tree branch before pushing herself off of it quickly, flipping through the air and dodging a senbon that whistled through the trees at her.

_I really wish I had Karin's chakra sensing abilities right now!_ Sakura growled out as she threw a shuriken in the same direction the senbon came from, knowing that she wouldn't hit Shinju. In fact, she heard a soft gasp and then the chakra signature disappeared—water clone.

_Damn._ Sakura felt a chakra spike and jumped, hearing the branch she'd been standing on splinter into small shards. She grabbed an overhanging branch with her hand, flipping herself upwards until her feet connected with the bark. Her eyes narrowed as she looked down, seeing one of Shinju's water clones standing calmly beside the shattered branch.

She smiled calmly at Sakura, her sword in hand. The large blade glistened in the light coming through the leaves, and a glare filled Sakura's sight, momentarily blinding her. She cursed, as the real Shinju came up behind her. Sakura ducked low, her nose almost grazing the bark of the tree branch. She heard the sound of Shinju's blade whistling past her head, and reached down hurriedly into her pouch as she rolled herself over onto her back. Her fingers met metal and she pulled the weapon out just in time to block Shinju's blade.

She cursed her inattentiveness. She'd grabbed a shuriken from her pack, and one of the spikes was slowly digging into her palm as she held Shinju's blade at bay, mere inches from her face. The tree branch they were standing on began to creak, and Sakura hissed from beneath clenched teeth as the blood from her hand dribbled down her arm, a few droplets splattering onto her cheek.

Shinju stood above her calmly, her face a stoic mask. There was no hatred in her gaze, only acceptance of the situation at hand. While neither woman necessarily wanted to kill one another, they knew that this was inevitable.

The first time they had met they'd known one of them would die.

Sakura was going to try her hardest to make sure that she was the one that lived.

The branch continued to creak under the pressure of Shinju's blade. The point of the shuriken continued to bury itself deeper into her hand, but she merely slammed her shoulder backwards and the branch snapped.

She heard Shinju let out an exclamation of surprise as she stumbled and fell with Sakura. Sakura flipped in the air, landing on the ground and leaping to the side to dodge the branch and Shinju as they crashed onto the forest floor.

She ripped the shuriken from her hand, healing it instantly and pulling out a small scroll from her pack just as the dust cleared and Shinju walked calmly from the pile of debris made by the fall.

"You should have killed me when I was stuck in your genjutsu." Shinju spoke, as the air between them seemed to become thick and stuffy.

Sakura said nothing.

"It was an interesting illusion, to be sure." Shinju continued. "I expected something with more malice from you, based on your personality."

Sakura unraveled the scroll, wiping the blood from her earlier wound onto it, summoning chakra into her fingertips. "You of all people should know not to judge by appearance."

"True." Shinju nodded. "When I first heard of you from my Kage, I had thought you would be an emotional and temperamental kunoichi, like your shishou. But you proved me wrong then, as well." She began her own set of hand signs, even as Sakura activated her scroll and smoke filled the area.

When the smoke cleared Sakura stood in a familiar crouched position, holding a large windmill shuriken behind her, jade eyes narrowed in Shinju's direction.

Shinju continued her hand signs, even as Sakura began running towards her, gripping the weapon tightly.

And then the unexpected happened, and Sakura faltered, eyes wide as she watched chakra and water _seep out of the trees_ and begin forming a large shape behind Shinju.

Sakura skidded to a halt, jumping backwards to put more distance between herself and the mist-nin. "…what the…?" She managed to bite out, still staring.

Shinju smiled softly, before the water behind her began to writhe until it formed the shape of a twisting dragon—and lunged. Sakura flipped backwards, landing on one hand and twisting herself around, before launching the shuriken at the water dragon.

"We both know that will not work." Shinju spoke calmly, as both of them watched the shuriken slice through the water and embed itself in a tree a few feet away.

Sakura smirked, before bringing a hand up to her mouth as she did several hand signs. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu." She breathed in deeply, before the flames erupted from her mouth, shooting towards the water dragon as it lunged for her once more.

"That jutsu is a low level fire technique." Shinju murmured. "You cannot hope that it will evaporate all that water."

Sakura merely gave a cold smile—before the water dragon burst into flames. Shinju's eyes widened as the white-hot flames ran down the course of the dragon's body. She let out a small cry as she tried to jerk her hand back—she'd had to keep it in the water to maintain the jutsu.

At the last second, as the entire area seemed to become an intense furnace of boiling, fire-covered water, Shinju landed on a tree branch out of range of the technique.

She looked down at her hand, the skin burnt to a charcoal black. It was cracked and bleeding horribly, and the pain traveled up her arm, making her wince.

Sakura stood in the middle of the clearing, gaze cool. A few puddles of water—that hadn't immediately evaporated from the heat—lay around the area, fires burning along their surface.

"How…?" Shinju managed to bite out, a pained hiss between clenched teeth.

Sakura merely straightened from her still crouched position, pulling a kunai from her pack, while her other hand glowed bright blue. "My specialty is fire jutsu, and they often take a lot of chakra. In order to keep as much of my chakra intact as possible, I've been looking for ways to enhance my fire techniques, so that I can use lower level ones and give them the same intensity as an A or S-ranked fire jutsu."

Shinju ignored the pain in her hand as she pulled out her sword, leveling it at Sakura.

"That windmill shuriken was coated in oil."

Shinju's eyes widened for a second, before narrowing. "I see. Clever."

Sakura smirked. "So they tell me." Then she disappeared.

* * *

"TAKE THAT BASTARD!" Anko roared, connecting her roundhouse kick with the stomach of a mist-nin. He let out a gargled choke before flying into the side of a building. Anko merely appeared beside him, slamming a kunai into his throat before wrenching it out, jumping onto the roof to dodge an oncoming water missile technique from another mist-nin.

She grinned, adrenaline pounding in her veins before she did her own set of hand signs. "Hidden shadow snake hands!" She threw her arm forward, three snakes erupted from the sleeve of her tan trench coat. One of them grabbed the mist-nin on the neck, sinking its fangs into his jugular as he let out a harsh cry as the other two bit into his chest.

Anko pulled backwards, sending him careening into a food cart a good five yards away. He twitched a few times, before falling still, blood seeping out from beneath the wreckage of the cart. Several large wooden splinters from the cart's frame had impaled the man on impact, one going through his heart.

"So, how many have _you_ got so far?" Anko asked, turning to look at the man who had just appeared on the rooftop beside her.

"Hm." He murmured, the sound issued from between his pursed lips as he surveyed the area. To anyone not familiar with Konoha it would seem like pure chaos and destruction. Konoha-nin were fighting off mist-nin and cloud-nin at every turn, and the streets seemed to be full of blood, whether it lay in pools on the ground or was splattered against the walls.

But there were no civilians around—like during the first Chuunin Exam attack, all of them were hidden away in safe spots. Ibiki himself was in charge of overseeing that plan, and he couldn't help but inwardly give a proud smile. Konoha shinobi were always prepared…and they would protect their village with their lives.

"How do you think everything is going at the stadium?" Anko finally asked.

"From what I can tell, they're having as much luck as we are. It won't be long until the Mizukage and Raikage retreat." Ibiki answered back gruffly.

"Haruno had just better not die. She still owes me money from our last poker night." Anko muttered, before leaping off onto another roof and disappearing from sight.

Ibiki shook his head with a sigh. He knew better than to believe that Anko just wanted her money from the pink-haired kunoichi. They two of them had become very good friends, both having been betrayed by someone they loved and cared about. It had been no surprise that the two had latched onto each other so quickly after Sasuke's departure.

And Ibiki was still trying to decide whether that was a good thing or not.

_One_ interrogation kunoichi with sadistic tendencies was enough.

"Ibiki-san." A voice crackled over his com-link. Ibiki pressed down on the communicator, "Yes?"

"This is the captain of team Nightshade." The speaker continued. Ah, so it was Hyuuga Yuudai. "We've encountered the enemy at the entrances of Konoha's underground tunnels, as was expected. All enemy nin have been eliminated at this point in time."

"Good. Continue to report in twenty minute increments."

"Hai." And the line went dead for a second, before crackling to life once again.

"So how's it going, Ibiki?"

"Ah, Jiraiya-san." Ibiki murmured. "We've been pushing the enemy back. How are things at the front gate?" He looked over in the direction, seeing on the hulking shape of a large toad. He suspected that Jiraiya was somewhere on the monstrous summon's head.

"Just perfect." Jiraiya said dryly. "Have I mentioned how much I hate mist-nin before?"

Ibiki merely snorted. "Several times, Jiraiya-san."

"Well let me say it again. I'd rather face a million Stone-nin than one squad of these persistent bastards. They never seem to run out of chakra."

"They're like cockroaches, sir."

* * *

Tsunade let out a loud battle cry, her fist slamming into the Raikage's stomach. He disappeared in a puff of smoke but Tsunade twisted around, kneeing the Raikage as he came up behind her. He doubled over her leg before turning into a log.

Her golden eyes narrowed dangerously. They'd been playing this stupid game for a while now and she was getting fucking _tired_ of it. How many times was he going to replace himself with a clone?

"Coward." She muttered under her breath, before scanning the area for the real Raikage.

A wall of sand appeared around her a second later and she flinched, as the entire thing melted to glass. She stared, wide-eyed, seeing the Raikage standing in front of her—behind the wall of glass, of course—and his hand was outstretched towards her. A look of surprise, which was quickly turning to one of fury, was plastered on his face as well.

Gaara appeared beside Tsunade a second later. "I hope my sand didn't inconvenience you."

Tsunade grinned. "No Kazekage-sama, it didn't. Thanks. And don't worry, I know just what to do with this." She motioned to the glass wall separating them from their enemies. "How is your fight with the Mizukage?"

"He is continuously weighing my sand down with water. It's taking more chakra than normal to manipulate it."

Tsunade nodded. "Very well. I have a plan, Kazekage-sama…let's see if it works."

* * *

Sasuke slammed the end of his sword through another cloud-nin's chest, ripping it out just as quickly and turning to slice off the arm of another oncoming enemy. His face was emotionless and stoic again. His Sharingan was still activated, but it seemed dulled a bit.

"Teme!" Naruto called out as he ran up to where the blonde and several others were fighting off a group of enemy nin. Apparently some of the daimyos hadn't been evacuated yet and it was Naruto's duty to make sure they got to a safe-spot.

"Hn." Sasuke greeted him, as Suigetsu ran up behind him, shouldering his own sword. Sasuke was about to say something else when he saw a flash of pink at the top of the wall before it disappeared.

_Sakura._

He jumped passed Naruto, running up the length of the wall easily and balancing on the top for a second, even as he heard Naruto's yells for an explanation.

"Dammit teme!" Naruto yelled after him, taking a step forward. But he stopped himself from running after the Uchiha, no matter how much he wanted to. He couldn't abandon his post. The people in the arena needed him.

He wasn't the same little boy that was going to run after Sasuke again. The teme would have to watch his own back—and he had better save Sakura-chan too!

"I could shoot him down before he got too far." Came an aloof reply to his right. The stone-nin archer who had saved him earlier was standing a few feet away, an arrow notched loosely upon her bow.

"Er, no thanks." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "I kind of want him to live."

"I could shoot him in the foot or pin him to the ground."

"Thanks but no thanks."

She raised one eyebrow in question, before complying, whirling around and shooting at another enemy nin. "Suit yourself, child of Konoha's Yellow demon."

_What is she talking about?_ But he merely turned to Suigetsu, who was watching Sasuke's retreating form as well. "HEY! You go after him now, that's an order!"

Suigetsu bristled. "What the hell? You're not the boss of me."

"I outrank you dumbass. I'm special Jonin, got it?" Naruto snapped back.

"I'm not even really a Konoha shinobi yet!"

"Consider yourself promoted!" Naruto yelled out exasperatedly. "Just GO!" And then he turned around to deal a Rasengan to another mist-nin's stomach.

Suigetsu looked like he was going to protest, but merely growled out a curse against the blonde before running after the Uchiha.

"Watch teme's back!"

Sugietsu smirked to himself as he heard Naruto's last order. _Sasuke really does have a lot of friends. Weird friends, but they're good ones._

_He's just so stupid he doesn't realize it yet._

* * *

Sakura leapt onto another tree branch, just as the tree she'd been standing on erupted into splinters. She charged chakra into her feet, leaping off of the other tree, twisting in the air and looking back just as another water dragon swallowed the next tree in its path.

She reached into her pack, grabbing a kunai. She hurriedly threw it behind her, and watched as it embedded itself in the rock cliff that was slowly getting closer and closer. She leapt from the last tree—still hearing the horrific crashing sound as more water dragons chased after her—and grabbed a hold of the kunai handle, before launching herself upwards, feet connecting with the edge of the cliff side. It was easier than walking up the cliff with her chakra, because she needed to reserve as much of that as possible.

It was already clear that Shinju had enormous chakra reserves—most Mist-nin did—and Sakura was sorely outmatched in that respect. Besides that, Shinju seemed to have the ability to take the chakra and water out of the trees around them. Which gave her an almost bottomless supply for her water jutsu.

_Fuck._

One of the dragons slammed into the base of the cliff, making Sakura stumble a bit as the entire thing shook violently. Blood continued to drip down her leg and she could only let out a muffled curse. Anything more than that would make the two broken ribs she now sported stab into her lungs, which was hurting like a _bitch_ right now.

At least she'd wounded Shinju as well.

But the wound in her thigh throbbed as she lost her footing a bit as blood loss continued to overwhelm her. She grabbed two blood replenishing pills and bit down, letting the metallic, disgusting taste fill her mouth before she felt her body begun to rejuvenate itself.

Shinju had pinned Sakura to the ground earlier by stabbing Sakura with her sword through her thigh. She'd almost gotten her, if Sakura hadn't slammed her other leg into Shinju's stomach and then flipped backwards, pulling herself off of the sword just as one of Shinju's water dragons had come hurtling towards her. The sword had remained embedded in the ground, and Sakura's leg felt like it had gone through a meat grinder.

But she'd shattered Shinju's pelvic bone—or at least fractured it. It was why Shinju was currently NOT using her sword and was relying on water dragons. It was easier than running after Sakura with her weapon, which would have been EXTREMELY painful.

She'd also managed to slice off Shinju's bun, and her hair now hung to her cheekbones in a wild array of sheared off ends and random long strands. The calm woman that Sakura had known had been replaced with a deadly and _angry_ kunoichi that would do anything in her power to kill Sakura at the moment.

The trees in front of the cliff side erupted, and there stood Shinju, eyes narrowed dangerously as she stared up at Sakura. She grabbed her sword and flung it at the cliff, where it stuck into the rock right beside Sakura's kunai.

Sakura could only stare, mouth open in surprise as Shinju _jumped_ into the air and landed on the sword in a crouch before she leapt up to where Sakura stood. And that was when things got interesting. The two began a hand-to-hand battle, both dodging the other's fists—because of Sakura's on-hit KO attack and Shinju's nasty habit of hiding poisoned senbon in her sleeve (Sakura had already had to extract a bit of the poison for further study as well as inject herself with one of her antidotes) —and stirring up dust with their movements.

How Shinju could even stand with her injuries was beyond Sakura, but then again, the fact that Sakura was able to dodge Shinju's swift hits was a miracle in itself. Her entire chest felt like it was on fire, and each shallow breath she took pressed her right lung against her broken ribs, which poked the organ relentlessly. And she didn't even want to get started on her leg. She'd used a little chakra to heal it enough that it wouldn't kill her, but she didn't have much chakra left so she'd only been able to heal the wound up a little.

Shinju slammed her fist forward—and it connected with Sakura's broken ribs. She heard them crack and she let out a choked gasp before she landed on the ground, rolling till she was only a few feet away from the cliff's edge.

She lay on her side, gasping for breath, rustling the few strands of hair that had fallen onto her face. Every time she breathed in pain shot through her system, and her mouth filled with dust. She coughed once, before the metallic tang of blood filled her mouth.

The broken ribs had punctured her lung.

She merely watched Shinju walk over to her slowly through half-lidded eyes, still gasping for air.

"I will not lose this battle, Haruno." Shinju spoke, though it looked like she was having a hard time doing so through her pain. "I have my kage to protect and I will not allow you to get in the way of my mission."

"Your kage doesn't care for you."

"I am a shinobi of The Village Hidden in the Mist." Shinju murmured. "It is my duty to protect my kage above all else. You can understand that, I am sure. It is a shinobi's job, their mission to give their life for their leader and village. We are merely tools, Haruno."

Sakura said nothing, because she knew it was true. Shinju stood in front of her, her feet a few inches from Sakura's nose.

"I really don't wish to do this, Haruno but…it has been my job to eliminate you from the beginning." And then she pulled out a kunai.

_Perhaps I am a tool…but I haven't lost my usefulness yet!_ Sakura growled, before grabbing a kunai from her own pack and slamming it down into the middle of Shinju's foot. The older woman let out a harsh cry as Sakura somehow managed to get to her feet, hunched over in a battle crouch, reaching for the last kunai in her pack.

Shinju bent down and wrenched the kunai from her foot with a pained hiss before looking up at Sakura, eyes narrowed. "I had not thought I would have to use this, Haruno-san…but it seems you have forced me to take desperate measures. There was a reason I was saving all of my own chakra…and this is it!"

And then she began a rapid succession of hand signs that Sakura's eyes couldn't follow. She felt two chakra signatures coming up quickly, but she didn't turn to look at them. Instead, she stared as the entire area seemed to shake, the ground shaking and crumbling beneath her feet.

Sakura leapt backwards, launching herself into the air as the entire cliff fell down, leaving only Shinju—who was standing on a large, churning body of water that bubbled and frothed beneath her feet.

"Grand Water Jutsu: Great World Serpent!"

And the water shot upwards, past Sakura, almost blocking out the sun as it gave an unearthly roar, twisting into the shape of a large snake. It glinted, reflecting off of the sun—before it launched itself down faster than Sakura had thought possible.

She couldn't dodge in time, even as she began falling back to the ground from when she'd launched herself into the air to dodge the crumbling cliff.

The serpent opened its mouth and Sakura saw a torrent of slicing water, like…a whirlwind of blades in place of fangs. If the thing were to swallow her…she would be torn apart in seconds.

She formulated a plan in seconds, one that she herself thought would make Shikamaru proud.

She grabbed a kunai with an exploding tag, flinging it into a tree ten feet away. She'd only have one shot at this, and if it failed, she was as good as dead.

She activated the tag and the area beside her exploded, the shockwave launching her backwards—just as the serpant came down. She let out a scream as it slammed into her shoulder, sending her crashing into the ground. But at least it had gotten her shoulder and not her whole body. But she'd kind of been hoping to dodge the _whole_ thing, and she wasn't feeling lucky at all at the moment.

The force of the impact caused a crater, and Sakura felt blood bubble up to her lips. Her entire body screamed in pain. Her left arm was broken, she knew that much, and no doubt there were several other small fractures throughout her body.

At least her spine hadn't snapped.

Or had it? No, she wasn't paralyzed. She felt too much damn pain for that.

She wasn't sure if she was happy about that or not.

Sakura let out a small whimper. Her entire shoulder felt like it was one fire. Actually, it felt like someone had rubbed the area raw with sandpaper, shredding the skin. As she spared the wound a glance she noticed that wasn't far from the truth. She could see straight down to the bone, which was painting red from all the blood that was seeping out. And the bone itself looked like it had been eaten away at, small parts of it splintering and stabbing into the bleeding skin around it.

A flash of light reflected off of the large serpent heading towards her. She could see it clearly, even though her vision was fading due to blood loss.

The serpent rushed down towards her.

* * *

Sasuke didn't stop, even as he felt Suigetsu's presence coming up behind him. His vision was filled with only one thing, and that was the pink-haired figure fighting atop a cliff side with a mist-nin. He knew immediately that the Mist-nin was no normal one. She was powerful, and she wielded her sword with pure skill and focus.

And then he saw the woman's fist connect with Sakura's chest. She coughed, flying backwards and rolling in the dust.

What was that feeling in him? What was the reason for the sudden skip of his heartbeat as he watched Sakura fall? She shouldn't fall. She was strong now, wasn't she? Not as strong as he was, of course, but she was capable. He would give her that much. She was worthy of his attention and that alone meant that no Mist-nin should be any competition for her.

He didn't understand the grim satisfaction that filled him when Sakura slammed a kunai into the woman's foot and got to her feet—she was bleeding everywhere, he could see that. But her face was cool and determined. She wouldn't back down. He remembered that look in her eyes. He had seen it at his last Chuunin Exams…when she'd knelt next to him and told him it would be ok, because she and Naruto were there to help him.

Yes, Sakura would win this yet. Or that's what he thought…until the entire cliff erupted into a small lake. Sakura had leapt off to get away from the falling rocks, and she seemed to hang in the air, weightless, before the water shot up into the sky and formed a serpent larger than he had ever seen.

It had to have been a mile long, at the very least.

"Holy fuck." He heard Suigetsu whisper from behind him.

And it shot downwards. There was no way Sakura would be able to dodge. She had no momentum to push herself out of the serpent's path from where she was falling through the air.

_Sakura._

She threw a kunai, and an explosion rocked the small clearing and he watched as she was flung to the right by the momentum. Yes, he thought. She would make it. She was out of harm's way. She would—

And the serpent slammed into her shoulder, and all he could see was the serpent's water turning crimson in the place it made contact with the pink-haired kunoichi. And all he heard was her high-pitched scream.

"Sakura!" It wasn't loud, not really. He didn't even think Sugietsu heard it.

"Oh god…" Suigetsu groaned out behind him.

They saw Sakura slam into the ground. She wasn't moving, but she was breathing in raggedly. She was alive.

Why was he relieved?

And then…the serpent lunged again, and Sasuke knew he couldn't make it to her. And he knew she wasn't going to move.

He couldn't understand the sharp stab of panic that shot through his body. But he froze, and his blood ran cold as he saw her—saw her lying there bleeding when he knew he couldn't get there in time. Like when she was pinned against the tree with Gaara's sand and he had been motionless, paralyzed by his pain and unable to do anything to protect her. Naruto had saved her.

There was no Naruto this time.

It reminded him of all those times he had watched everyone he cared about being ripped away from him. He'd always been too weak. Always…and once again, he could do nothing but watch.

He admitted silently, that perhaps he cared more for his old teammates than he pretended. He had always seen attachments as a weakness—and this was _why_ dammit, because they were always taken from you and then you were left horribly empty—but that didn't mean he didn't _have_ them.

There was no way to escape Team 7. They were a family, and no matter how much you hate, you love them unconditionally too. And while he didn't want to admit it, he did, deep down, love them…just a little…in the I-want-to-fucking-kill-you kind of way, because they made him weak and he wanted to be strong and powerful _so badly._

The word erupted from his lips, a harsh cry. "SAKURA!"

* * *

Tsunade jumped, launching herself over the glass wall and running at the Raikage, her hand blazing with chakra. At the same time, Gaara's sand rushed towards the Mizukage, who was using the water from the arena to create a multitude of water dragon missiles.

The water dragons washed over the sand, soaking it and sending it falling pitifully down to the ground.

Tsunade growled, before punching the Raikage straight in the chest—and stopped, her knuckles barely brushing the collar of his kage robes. She let out a choked gasp as blood bubbled to her lips. The Raikage smirked, his kodachi dripping with Tsunade's blood from where it erupted out her back, right below her heart.

"Too easy." The Raikage drawled—before there was a large puff of smoke and his kodachi was stuck through nothing more than a log. "Replacement?" He hissed out—before a wave of sand slammed into him.

"What the—?" The Mizukage began, seeing a large wall of sand throw the Raikage into the concrete wall of the kage booth. He didn't get to think on it, however, as the Kazekage in front of him disappeared into sand and the Hokage was standing in front of him, fist raised.

Pain erupted throughout his body as he went flying across the arena. He slammed into the wall on the other side, a crater forming from the impact before he slumped down to the ground behind some of the stadium chairs.

He spit up a mouthful of blood and saliva, before wiping it away with the edge of his robes. He could see Tsunade standing at the edge of the kage booth, glaring down at him, one hand on her hip, the other clenched into a fist.

So…the two kages had switched opponents on them…how _wonderful_. He had no doubt the Raikage was having a hard time with the Kazekage—that is, if he had gotten out of his sand coffin at all.

_I can still win…_the Mizukage thought furiously, as the water around him shifted and began to form shapes as he began a set of hand signs. And that was when pain sliced thought his body, pinning him to the wall at both shoulders, as well as one through each thigh.

He let out a ragged growl as the water fell back into the arena, useless…and he saw Tsunade smirking, twirling a piece of glass in her hands. His eyes narrowed. So…the Hokage had used the glass as a weapon. Because of his water jutsu, even if the glass had gone through them they would see invisible, since it would only blend in with the water.

Damn…

There was nothing that he could do, and he saw that the Raikage was bleeding heavily from one of his arm, which had been completely crushed by the Kazekage's sand coffin.

"Retreat." The Mizukage gasped out. "Re…treat…"

* * *

"SAKURA!"

The sound of Sasuke's harsh cry stirred her to wakefulness. Sasuke? Why was he screaming? The bastard didn't care about her at all so why…why did he sound panicked? What was wrong anyway? She didn't feel much now except pleasantly warm and cold—at the same time, what a strange feeling…

Besides, the bastard should know better than to try and gain her trust through pretending to care. He was manipulative but so was she and she would be damned before she allowed him to get under her skin like that. Or had he already and she was just denying as much?

She really didn't know, because the pain was coming back to her full force as she saw the large dragon's maw widening as it continued downward, waiting to swallow her.

_Sasuke…_

She couldn't…she couldn't die now. She rolled herself to the side, crying out at the sharp pain as she lunged to the right, getting to her feet—just as the serpent hit the ground where she had just been. The spray of water drenched her as the serpent's mouth drilled into the ground, forcing up bits of earth and turning its head into a muddied mess.

She leapt up, forcing chakra to her feet and water-walking up the side of the twisting serpent. She had to do this quickly. There was no time to think, no time to wonder why she had the sudden urge to kick Sasuke's ass _very hard_ when she saw him again for being such a dick.

Wait…what had he done again? Damn blood loss…

Shinju's eyes were wide in surprise as Sakura let out a loud battle cry—a half roar-half cry of pain—blood splattering through the water and the air as it flowed from her shoulder wound. Her arm was held back, her fist glowing brightly with chakra.

And she slammed it into Shinju's stomach. Shinju gave a small gasp before blood erupted from her mouth, splattering across Sakura's hair and face as the older woman was thrown off of the water serpent and into the forest. Dust and debris erupted into the air as Sakura watched it make a clean trail a mile or so into the forest, with broken trees littering the way.

The chakra disappeared from the water and it disintegrated, sending Sakura falling down with it. She managed to land on her feet in the newly-made mud, and she stumbled, but kept herself from falling to her knees.

She felt two chakra signatures coming up—one was Sasuke and the other was Suigetsu. But she couldn't wait for them. She merely pressed a hand to her bleeding shoulder and headed off in the direction she'd punched Shinju.

* * *

Suigetsu would never forget the look on Sasuke's face as long as he lived. He had seen a lot of things during his life, had experienced a lot. But nothing could have prepared him for THAT when the serpent had lunged for Sakura as she lay bleeding on the ground.

His eyes were what had caught Suigetsu the most, because Sasuke was an emotionless person and his face rarely showed much. But they have been blazing crimson as usually—but with so much desperation and panic—and other things that Suigetsu didn't know if he was imagining it or not.

He hadn't known that Sasuke actually had a heart. That he had the ability to care at all. He had always seen him as a self-centered, arrogant, emotionless asshole. Over time he'd grown to respect him, but he'd never completely gotten rid of that view he held of him.

And now…now that view was shattered. Because someone like that wouldn't have had THAT look on his face.

And Suigetsu knew…that Sasuke didn't even know it was there, even as he screamed Sakura's name.

And he realized something that he doubted neither Sakura or Sasuke did. Something that they'd both deny fervently if he said anything.

Sasuke cared.

A lot.

And not just for anyone. He knew that Sasuke still saw the blonde Kyuubi as his brother (he really wasn't as hard to read as he thought) and he knew that he still looked up to the Copy Cat ninja as his sensei.

But Sakura…was different.

And Suigetsu wasn't quite sure how to describe it.

So he merely rushed after Sasuke, who was running through the forest, following the trail of broken trees and the pink-haired form of the only kunoichi that Suigetsu had ever truly thought that Sasuke might\maybe\already\completely love.

* * *

Sakura stumbled towards Shinju's form, trying her hardest to stay upright. She knew it was sheer willpower alone that was keeping her from collapsing. She merely landed on her knees by Shinju's gasping form, a kunai held shakily in her hand.

"You…beat…me…"

Sakura panted heavily, blood trickling down her chin. She wiped it away hastily, before wincing as pain erupted in her arm.

"My…sword…is…yours now…"

"I don't care. I just…" Sakura coughed, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "I just got a message from my team leader. The Mizukage and Raikage are retreating. You have lost. Your team, your students…they're all dead." And Sakura wasn't quite sure why she was talking at all, only that she wanted to keep herself talking so she wouldn't fall unconscious.

Shinju smiled softly, blood bubbling to her lips. "Yasu and Juro…they were not my students…Keiichi was my only true student I…I…" She coughed, and tears filled her eyes, running down her cheeks. "He was my nephew. The last of my clan. Your sensei…Hatake…he killed the only other member of our clan…Momochi's apprentice…"

Sakura's eyes widened. Haku really _had_ been related to Shinju then?

"But that is not…what I wanted to tell you…" Shinju coughed again. "Yasu and Juro…their sensei…after…Kyuubi…" Shinju's hand reached out and grabbed Sakura's green Konoha vest, staining it red where her fingers clutched the coarse fabric.

"What are you saying, Shinju-san?" Sakura asked calmly, even as she felt her vision blurry and her head swam with dizziness. She needed to see a medic, and soon.

"…wants…Kyuubi…shark…three moons…"

And then she was silent, and her hand that had desperately clutched Sakura's vest fell limp to the ground.

* * *

**(A\N: Hey guys! I hope you liked it. The reason for the title is that, when faced with death, people often begin to realize things about themselves, including their feelings. Like a diary... :D The next chapter will have more Sasuke and Sakura thoughts, as well as Sasuke meeting up with Sakura. I think Sasuke's reaction was pretty well founded. He used to value Sakura and Naruto as his teammates—and we all know he had a crush on Sakura when they were younger XD—and he was always afraid that they'd get hurt, since everyone he's ever cared for has died. And plus…after that last manga chapter I HAD to add in SasuSaku love. I think I might die if I don't. T-T But don't worry. Just because SUIGETSU realizes that Sasuke MAY love Sakura...Sakura and Sasuke are going to continue to deny and avoid one another...and probably insult one another along the way as well. XD**

**Anyway, this is kind of where the SasuSaku part of the story is finally going to start developing. Sakura is afraid of what she wants, Sasuke isn't sure _what_ he wants, and they're both trying their hardest to keep cold and aloof and distant from everyone else…but we all know how Naruto changes people…I have no doubt he can make Sasuke good again, especially with Sakura's help. :D Naruto can save them both!**

**Btw…Shinju's justu is based off of the Midgard serpent Midgard Serpent (Norse myth) serpent that is so big it circles the globe. It killed Thor.**

**Anyway…see ya guys next time…I'm not sure when the update will be.**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


	26. Chapter 25: Leave Out All the Rest

**QUESTION AND ANSWER TIME:**

**Q: Seeing as Shades of Grey is finally at chapter 24, are you going to end it soon and add a sequal?**

**A: Yes actually. This is going to be the last chapter of Shades of Grey before the sequel, which is titled Monochrome.**

**Q: Now that the manga has been going down hill and Itachi's dead, are you just  
going to write SasuSaku's? How do you feel now about the pairing ItaSaku? Are  
you going to end Shisui without a sequel?**

**A: Shisui is going to be the end of my ItaSaku quartet, but not the end of my ItaSaku stories. I have a few more that I'm working on at the moment. Even though Itachi is dead, I still feel more inspired to write stories with him in it than with Sasuke, for some strange reason. Of course, it may have to do with Sasuke being a jerk in the manga right now. XD**

**Q: It was also interesting the way you added Suigetsu's personal thoughts on  
Sasuke's behavior and facial expressions, are you going to have him tell Karin  
about it (even if it is only to goad her into jealous actions or something)?**

**A: We'll just have to see. :D**

**Q: That kinda sucks that Sakura's team is solely responsible for the extinction  
of that bloodlimit...but is she really dead or has she just passed out due to  
pain/injuries/blood-loss?**

**A: I think that Shinju is really going to be dead. It is kind of sad that the kekkei genkai is lost now, but I suppose that's just like the Kaguya bloodlimit. Mist seems to lose their strong kekkei genkais rather quickly, ne?**

**(A\N: So…one thing to rant about before I get to the chapter. Ok so…I was reading a story and they put in there that Sakura became an interrogation shinobi under Ibiki so that she wouldn't have to kill someone because she didn't think she could handle it.**

**…**

**…**

**-coughs-**

**SERIOUSLY? If you are an interrogator you see more death than any other shinobi! You have to learn to TORTURE someone and heal them and be pretty much a sadistic bastard. Being an interrogation shinobi would take more mental willpower than being just an assassin in ANBU.**

**Anyway, enough ranting…enjoy the chapter! :D)**

* * *

**Chapter 25**

**Leave Out All the Rest**

* * *

I dreamed I was missing  
You were so scared  
But no one would listen  
Cause no one else cared

After my dreaming  
I woke with this fear  
What am I leaving  
When I'm done here

So if you're asking me  
I want you to know

When my time comes  
Forget the wrong that I've done  
Help me leave behind some  
Reasons to be missed

And don't resent me  
And when you're feeling empty  
Keep me in your memory

Leave out all the rest  
Leave out all the rest

Don't be afraid  
I've taken my beating  
I've shared what I made

I'm strong on the surface  
Not all the way through  
I've never been perfect  
But neither have you

So if you're asking me  
I want you to know

When my time comes  
Forget the wrong that I've done  
Help me leave behind some  
Reasons to be missed

Don't resent me  
And when you're feeling empty  
Keep me in your memory

Leave out all the rest  
Leave out all the rest

Forgetting  
All the hurt inside  
You've learned to hide so well

Pretending  
Someone else can come and save me from myself  
I can't be who you are

When my time comes  
Forget the wrong that I've done  
Help me leave behind some  
Reasons to be missed

Don't resent me  
And when you're feeling empty  
Keep me in your memory

Leave out all the rest  
Leave out all the rest

Forgetting  
All the hurt inside  
You've learned to hide so well

Pretending  
Someone else can come and save me from myself  
I can't be who you are  
I can't be who you are

--Leave Out All the Rest by Linkin Park

* * *

_"What are you saying, Shinju-san?" Sakura asked calmly, even as she felt her vision blurry and her head swam with dizziness. She needed to see a medic, and soon._

_"…wants…Kyuubi…shark…three moons…"_

_And then she was silent, and her hand that had desperately clutched Sakura's vest fell limp to the ground._

* * *

Sakura stared down at Shinju's unmoving form. She reached out a hand and closed the older woman's eyes with a small, tired sigh. Then she stood, and stumbled backwards as she did so. She lost her footing, feeling blood loss finally taking its toll. But before she hit the ground, a pair of hands grabbed her. Strong arms, she noticed, but she couldn't really focus on them too much.

"You're so annoying. I'm getting tired of saving you."

"Go to hell, Sasuke." Sakura muttered instinctively, leaning against the Uchiha as he held her up. He shifted her in his hold, so that he was holding her bridal style against his chest.

"I don't want your help." She muttered thickly, but he ignored her.

She turned to Suigetsu, who was standing beside his dark-haired partner. "Suigetsu…at the cliff…Shinju left her sword for me. Since I don't use swords…you can have it, since you're collecting them…" She blinked again, before wincing as the shock of the battle wore off and the pain from all of her injuries began to come back.

"Go get the sword." Sasuke ordered. "I'll take her back to the arena."

"Shouldn't you take her to the hospital?" Suigetsu questioned, even as Sakura began to sag against Sasuke, her eyes fluttering closed. She was so pale and there was so much blood…he swallowed.

Sasuke shook his head. "Ino is a medic. Besides the Godaime she will be the best for the job at the moment. She's currently at the arena."

"Right." Suigetsu nodded. "I'll go get the sword."

Sasuke merely disappeared, Sakura in his arms.

Suigetsu stayed put for a moment, looking over at Shinju's body. "…so you were one of the swordsman…" He sighed. "I guess there's a lot I still don't know about you damn mist-nin." And he gave a grin. "But don't worry, I'll definitely kill you all and get all your swords." But then he placed his sword against one of the few remaining trees in the area and picked up her limp form.

She was a worthy and powerful shinobi. She deserved a proper burial at the very least.

Her sword could wait.

* * *

_Dark…so very dark. She groaned softly, because her entire body felt like it was on fire. She couldn't see, but she could still feel. The earth beneath her was cold and wet—mud was seeping into her clothing, sticking to her face and beneath her fingernails as she dug her hands into the ground to try and steady herself. Cold droplets of rain pelted her body, plastering her hair to her face. _

_She was lying on her side in the cold mud and she was shivering. It was so cold…god why did it have to be so cold? It was such a large contrast to the burning pain that racked her body, and the hot liquid that seeped from her stomach._

_Why couldn't she see?_

Open your eyes_._

_She slowly did so, and all she saw was mud. Wait, she was on her side wasn't she? She grunted, forcing her body to move until she was lying on her back, the rain pelting her face. _

I shouldn't be alive.

_Well it didn't matter much, since she would probably die in a few minutes anyway. The wound was too grievous to heal without chakra. Did she _have_ any chakra left? She didn't think so, or she would have used it already right?_

_She pushed herself into a sitting position. The rain had stopped, but she was soaked and dirty, and the blood loss made her vision swim with dizziness, and she had to blink the darkness out of her eyes. Her sight began to clear—but the pain continued, a body-racking throb that began in her chest and shot through her body with each beat of her heart. _

_Where was she? The place seemed eerily familiar. Darkened, empty streets. The large protective walls surrounding the place were crumbling, the paint chipping off. She heard the clack of a shutter hitting the side of a house as a large gust of wind blew through the street._

_She forced herself to stand, leaning against the wall behind her for support as she let out a ragged breath. She put her hand to her stomach to help stop the bleeding, and winced at the pain. She looked down to the body that lay sprawled beside her own and froze, hand falling to her side._

_"N—no!" She lunged forward, dropping to her knees, ignoring the seering pain in her side as she rolled the body over. Soft blue eyes stared lifelessly up at her. Her fingers shook as she searched for a pulse. None._

_"…Ino…" Something was wrong here, terribly wrong. The air seemed to become tense and heated. She could smell blood everywhere, and the scent of decaying bodies. Where was she? And then she looked to the cracked wall she had been leaning against, the bloody imprint of her back glaring back at her from atop the dulled image…of an Uchiha fan._

_The Uchiha compound._

_She was in the Uchiha compound. Ino was dead. And that was when she noticed the other bodies littering the silent street. Konoha vests…and she recognized them all. Kiba lay sprawled against the wall a few houses down, Akamaru curled up at his side, unmoving. Shikamaru was hanging from the corner of a rooftop; the pale ninja wire that had been used to secure him was stained bright crimson. _

_Neji's body was slumped over Hinata's—he'd tried to shield her from a large windmill shuriken that stuck out of his back. But Hinata was unmoving beneath him, and she could see the blood pool beneath her head. Most likely the killer had slit her throat after Neji's death._

_She felt sick, but more than that, angry. Who would do this? She leapt to her feet, feeling a faint chakra fluctuation inside one of the houses. Someone was live. Was it the killer? Where were the others? She ran down the street, ignoring her own injuries. She brushed away angry, frustrated tears as she passed the bodies of others she knew. The rookie 9, team Gai…Asuma, Kurenai, Genma, Shizune. What was going on?_

_She bit back a sob as she threw open the door to the house. She had no weapon, but she didn't care. She wasn't afraid, she was furious. The door crashed into the wall, a flimsy thing that couldn't stand up to her desperate force of entry._

_"Naruto? Kakashi-sensei? Sai?" She called out, trying to see anything in the pervading darkness. "Where are you?"_

_No answer._

_"ANSWE ME!" She didn't think her voice could quite reach that pitch of hysteria any longer. _

_Snap._

_A branch, a twig—a bone? Something had broken, and Sakura crouched into a defense position at the sound, still wincing as blood continued to ooze from her wound, groping in the darkness for a weapon. Silence pervaded her senses once more, and she managed to calm herself enough to stand, and walk into the room across the blood splattered hall._

_She stopped at the doorway, her hand slowly falling from the wood, leaving crimson stains from the blood that had covered her fingertips. At first, she only stood there, before she began to tremble softly._

_A bead of sweat ran down her face, catching at the tip of her nose. It fell, and she let out a choked cry before rushing forward. "NOO!"_

_She dropped to her knees in front of the bodies, hands still shaking. This shouldn't be possible. She shouldn't be so scared. It had to be an illusion. She must be trapped in a genjutsu. But even as she sobbed out the proper "kai" and did the hand signs, the scene in front of her didn't change._

_She reached forward, grabbing the handle of the kunai that stuck crudely from the base of the corpse's neck. It came out with a soft squelching sound, and she let out a small, choked cry—before slamming the kunai into her leg._

_Nothing._

_This was no illusion._

_She pulled the kunai out and let it land on the ground beside her, and she heard it hit the floor with the hollow clang of metal hitting wood. She collapsed atop the unmoving body. "N-no…why?" Her fingers tangled themselves in silver locks, while her other hand sought the midnight black tresses of her paler companion. _

_"K-Kakashi-s-sensei…S-Sai…"_

_The chakra fluctuated again. She stilled for a moment, before she finally lifted herself off of her sensei's cold body, emerald eyes as cold as flint. She grabbed the kunai from the floor, breath shaky as she leapt to her feet, disappearing in a whirlwind of leaves._

_"SHOW YOURSELF!" She screamed, appearing in the middle of the corpse-ridden street. She was further into the compound now. She gripped the handle of the kunai tightly, blinking the sweat and blood from her eyes. "FIGHT ME!"  
_

_A low chuckle issued behind her and she whirled around, slicing through the air with the kunai. She met no resistance, and let out a hiss—before freezing. _

_The kunai landed in the dust._

_"Oh god…" _

_It looked like some cruel, dark cultish sacrifice. Surely it must have been Hidan of the Akatsuki. No one else would find perverse pleasure in crucifying a body against a telephone pole. She let out a startled cry, rushing forward. _

_He was still breathing._

_"NARUTO! HOLD ON!" She skidded to a halt beside him, hands shaking as she grabbed his body, pushing him upwards. She had to allow him to breathe. With the way he was hanging, his body could not support itself. Crucifixion was a slow death of suffocation due to hyper-expansion of the chest muscles and lungs. His lungs were straining, and she felt blood fleck across the back of her Konoha vest as he coughed, his face pressed into the crook of her neck. _

_"Hold on Naruto. I'm going to get you down."_

_"S-Sakura-chan….g-get out…you h-have t-to…get out…" _

_Sakura paid him no heed. She pulled the kunai out of his wrists, and his full bodyweight fell on her. She stumbled, but kept her balance. She managed to half-carry, half-drag him to the side of one of the stone walls surrounding the compound. _

_"I can do this. Just hold on a little longer, Naruto."_

_"S-Sakura-chan…"_

_"Don't talk. Keep your strength." Her voice shook, but she merely placed her hands to his chest. Her fingers ached as she tried to force chakra into them. She sobbed hopelessly. Why? Why couldn't she do anything? Why was she so FUCKING WEAK?_

_"N-Naruto…"_

_"Y-You have t-to get out…S…akura…chan…" He whispered, voice straining. He coughed again, and then his body stilled._

_"Naruto? Naruto! NARUTO!"_

_She breathed in, before the chakra fluctuation from before flared to life, almost physically slamming into her. She trembled, before slowly looking back at the telephone pole where Naruto had been crudely placed._

_A figure was crouched at the pole's top, staring down at her. A viscious smile curled upon his pale lips. She lowly met his gaze._

_And Sakura found herself drowning in crimson. _

Sakura gave a gasp, shooting out of the covers. Her entire body shook, eyes wide. She reached up and brushed the dampness from her cheek. Tears…she had been crying? She raked a hand through her hair, before staring down at her lap, trying to regulate her breathing.

What had happened? What on earth...was that?

The door opened.

"Sakura!"

She blinked, recognizing the voice instantly. "Shizune."

A dream. It had been a dream.

The older medic smiled, but she looked worried. "You've been unconscious for so long, we were all very concerned." Shizune herself looked haggard. There were slight rings under her eyes, and small crow's feet at the corners. It almost frightened Sakura, to see the woman she saw as an older sister aging so rapidly. But, a shinobi's life was hectic, and the horrors that shinobi experienced caused one to grow up fast.

Also, because of the invasion, there were no doubt many wounded that had been rushed to the hospital—herself included—and because Sakura herself wasn't there, Shizune had probably taken the brunt of the wounded herself.

"What…happened?" It would be best to push the dream aside. She couldn't think of it now. There were more pressing matters, and the inbred need to protect her village overrode her own feelings.

Shizune's face brightened, regaining some of its youth. "Mist and Cloud retreated. The Tsuchikage and his entourage left for Stone a day ago. We won."

"Causalities?"

"Less than we thought." While positive, it helped explain the reason for Shizune's appearance. 'Less than we thought' meant that the medics had been working in overdrive since the invasion to save lives.

"Shizune…why would they attack us? They must have known we were ready for an invasion." Sakura's monotone voice shook only slightly now. Her gaze was calm once again. "What were they trying to prove?" It was something that had been bugging her since the invasion began. It had been obvious Konoha would take precautions to stop an invasion after what happened at the last Chuunin Exams held in Konoha. Only a fool would attack during a time when security was so heightened.

"I don't know." Shizune whispered, before she sighed. "You're fully healed. We were just waiting for you to wake up. I'm sure you'd like to leave. I'll go sign the necessary paperwork." She dragged a hand through her already mussed hair, and twisted a few of the frayed split ends between her fingertips. Sakura knew what she was thinking; it was the same thing that went through Sakura's mind when she was in 'medic mode': how many more cases do I have to check up on before my shift is over? Were all medications administered properly? Were allergies looked into? How many casualty files would be needed to be drawn up? Were the nurses being overworked? Tired nurses meant grevious mistakes and possible casualties.

Sakura merely nodded at Shizune with a calm smile, and Shizune left the room quietly. Sakura reminded herself to sign up for the next hospital shift as soon as possible to alleviate some of the weight on her 'neechan's' shoulders. After all, with Tsunade no doubt hounded by political treaties, alliances, and meetings, Shizune was the head of the entire hospital and medical staff. She needed a break. And Sakura planned on giving it to her…once she found her teammates, regained her chakra, and sorted everything out.

She slipped out of the clean hospital bed with a grunt. Her stomach and shoulder were wrapped in bandages, and her body was sore. Other than that, she felt fine. Her chakra was on its way to getting back to normal.

Her eyes narrowed.

Sasuke! She rushed out of the room, running down the sterilized hallways barefoot and in nothing but her hospital shift.

"Sakura-san!" She ignored the calls of her colleagues and fellow medic-nin. Where the hell was he? Where they watching him? Of course not! All of Konoha fucking TRUSTED him! He could have escaped—could have killed someone and in all the chaos no one would have noticed.

Dammit.

She blinked, before turning an abrupt right and rushing down the hallway, not heeding the orders to return to her room until she was released properly. She merely narrowed her eyes even more and skidded to a halt in front of a door at the end of a vacant hallway.

She did a set of handsigns, before ripping off the seal and stepping inside.

The occupant inside blinked. "Sakura-san!"

* * *

"He's fine." Juugo smiled back good naturedly. "But Sasuke-sama doesn't like being kept under guard, so I am sure he is feeling uncomfortable."

"Mm." Sakura murmured, slipping on her vest and zipping it up completely. It had taken a few minutes before Sakura had been able to get the necessary information out of Juugo, but she was now sufficiently calmed down—and Shizune had already tracked her down, lectured her for frightening their coworkers, and handed her her clothing.

Sasuke was currently under ANBU guard. He had, apparently, taken her back to the arena where Ino had healed her as best she could, before she was transported to the hospital for the rest of her stay. Sasuke had then visited Juugo to explain what had happened—under guard—and had left for the Uchiha compound—under guard—and was currently waiting for Sakura to recover with the rest of her dysfunctional little team. Under guard.

"I was worried when you didn't come." Juugo murmured. "When I heard the sirens, I knew that something was wrong. I was afraid you or Sasuke-sama had been injured."

Sakura nodded. "We're fine now." She sat down on the edge of Juugo's bed. Just hearing about Sasuke made her think back to those last few moments before her final attack. She had been certain she was going to die, and then…and then he'd called her name.

Why did he have so much power to rouse her from certain death just by saying her name? It angered and confused her that he still had so much power over her. It shouldn't be possible. She had worked so hard to make sure she never had to rely on anyone ever again. To never be attached to someone who would only betray her in the end.

"Are you alright, Sakura-san?"

"Hm?" Sakura blinked, before she nodded with a sigh. "Yes. I'm fine. I have some good news, Juugo-san."

It was Juugo's turn to blink. "What is it?"

"In two days you're going to have an evaluation by a group of highly trained medical-nin. If they think you're ready, you'll be allowed to leave and become a citizen of Konohagakure."

There was a long moment of silence, and Sakura saw a myriad of emotions flit through Juugo's gaze. He settled finally on a slightly worried confusion. "Sakura-san…I have nowhere to stay."

"There is a small compound where Karin and Suigetsu are being housed. It would be the logical place for you." Now that Sakura thought about it, she needed to go and check on her team as soon as possible.

"I…" Juugo swallowed. "Suigetsu is very…abrasive…and Karin is quite emotional. When I am around them, it is more difficult to control myself."

Sakura was silent for a moment. She could see how that would play into it. She looked over at Juugo's frightened gaze and frowned a bit. He was like a lost child, and she wondered how many cruelties he had suffered under Orochimaru's experimentations. She finally put a hand on his shoulder, her mind made up.

"I will make a suggestion to the medical board as well as the council that you be allowed to stay at my home."

* * *

"Ah! Kakashi-sensei! What do you mean Sakura-chan isn't at the hospital?" Naruto yelled out, waving his arms frantically.

Sasuke almost twitched, but instead took a sip of his tea. He leaned against the bar with a small sigh—before a figure collided with him and he grimaced, grabbing onto the bar's edge to keep from falling off his chair. His attacker let out a loud laugh—and slung an arm around his shoulders.

"Why are you so tense? God, you're as prude as a monk, I swear."

Sasuke did twitch this time, but merely grabbed his tea and took another swig. He grimaced, before looking up at the bartender. "Sake." He needed some alcohol.

After all, everyone else was already drunk as hell, including Suigetsu, who had yet to let go of him.

"Hey! That's my man!" Another arm, this one pulling him towards a noticeably more feminine body.

Suigetsu snickered at the flustered look on Sasuke's face.

"Hey bitch, didn't I tell you before that Sasuke doesn't like people like…you…?" Ino blinked drunkenly, stumbling over to the group and away from the mass of shinobi and civilians at the other end of the large bar.

"He's-hiccup-mine! Don't make me…kick yer ass!" Karin slurred. "I'll use tha' ju'su that…that Sak'ra taught me an' I'll make ya…" And she passed out, falling backwards. Suigetsu let out another snicker, grabbing her before she hit the ground and propping her back up in the stool. She ended up half lying on it, her face pressed against the counter top. He let go of Sasuke and went to sit on her other side, ordering himself another drink.

Ino continued to stare at the scene before turning to Naruto—who seemed rather sober, considering the situation. "Hey! Where's Forehead?"

"I don't know! Kakashi-sensei just called the hospital and they said she isn't there!" Naruto grumbled, folding his arms across his chest and sticking out his lip in a pout.

Said man merely sighed, before grabbing Naruto and turning to Ino. "Come on you two. Sakura will be here soon. She said she wanted to celebrate with her team alone, so let's go."

"Awwww but sensei!" Naruto whined, "We're Sakura-chan's team, aren't we?"

"I don't remember _you_ just passing the Chuunin Exams, Naruto." Came a wry voice from behind them. Everyone turned—including a highly inebriated Karin, to see Sakura standing behind them. She was wearing her normal shinobi outfit, and she looked a bit tired, but that was all.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto, Ino, and—surprisingly—a drunken Karin, sang out. Karin tried to jump out of her seat to hug her sensei, but was stopped by Suigetsu.

"Whoa girl. Don't want to face plant and break your glasses, do ya? You just got 'em fixed."

"It seems that Suigetsu and Karin have already begun making good of my promise to buy them all the sake they could drink in one night." Sakura murmured, eyeing the two, who both sported flushed faces and glazed eyes.

Karin nodded happily, reaching for another drink. Suigetsu merely gave her a mocking salute and downed another cupful.

There was a moment of silence as Sakura turned to Sasuke. Everyone waited, but Sasuke merely turned back to the bar and took a calm sip of his drink. Sakura shrugged, sitting down at the bar as well.

"Alright you two, we're done babysitting. Let's go." Kakashi pushed lightly on Ino and Naruto's backs, ushering them out of the bar. Both blondes protested loudly, but soon the three had disappeared into the crowd.

"Doesn't matter much." Sugietsu muttered. "It's not like we don't have a shitload of ANBU still watching our asses."

"Yeah." Karin pouted.

Sakura merely ordered herself a beer. "They've taken the night off." She said calmly.

There was a moment of silence, before all three members of Team 13 turned to her in shock. "WHAT?" Suigetsu and Karin sputtered out.

"You're Chuunin of Konohagakure now." Sakura shrugged. "The council has deemed you trustworthy enough to be allowed in certain areas of the village without supervision now."

"YES!" Suigetsu roared, and Karin's grin stretched widely.

"Hn."

"You're such a party pooper!" Suigetsu groaned, but then promptly ignored the stoic Uchiha. His attention was currently drawn to the fresh jug of sake placed in front of him.

Sakura really was regretting this. She sighed softly, taking a sip of her beer. She was still trying to remember just how she'd agreed to it in the first place. Oh, that's right, she'd tracked down Sasuke after talking with Juugo a day before, and had found all three of them at the Uchiha compound—under ANBU guard, naturally.

They'd all looked so proud in their new Chuunin vests—well, Sasuke had just looked cantankerous, as usual—and Sakura had decided that a celebration was in order. She'd told them she was proud, and that they'd have a night out at the bar, her treat.

God, at this rate she was going to have to pawn Shinju's sword—which Suigetsu had made her take back in the end. He'd said that Sakura had deserved it for beating Shinju 'fair and square' and that he'd just have to get it from her when he finally defeated her—to which Sasuke sent him a piercing glare.

In fact, now that Sakura thought about it…Sasuke had been watching her a lot since she'd gotten out of the hospital. And not just a calculating stare, as if he were trying to discover her strengths and weaknesses, like most shinobi. It was…a deep look. It unnerved her, because it made her think of the way he'd screamed her name and the way it had made her heart speed up and the way it made her want to _live_ just to hear it again.

He was doing it even now, out of the corner of his eye. She swallowed, grabbing her beer and taking a large swig of it. Maybe if she got drunk enough…his stares wouldn't make her stomach flutter with butterflies any longer.

* * *

Sasuke took a sip of his tenth cup of sake and blinked almost sleepily. His mind felt…fuzzy, and all he could focus on for long periods of time was Sakura's annoyingly bright pink hair.

Karin was leaning against Suigetsu and they were talking to one another quietly—conspiring more likely. In fact, as he took another sip, he heard Karin give a devious giggle. His eye twitched.

"What do you think they're planning?"

He almost jumped, feeling her breath on his face. It made his bangs sway slightly. He smelled beer and sake and merely grunted, turning to see that she was—if he were sober—uncomfortably close. But since they were both drunk—apparently—he didn't find anything wrong with his proximity. In fact, it made him want to reach out and touch her face, and run his fingers over her annoyingly pink hair to see if it was as soft as it looked.

Sasuke had, strangely, been having thoughts similar to those for a while now. He didn't understand them—and he sure as hell didn't _welcome_ them—but he had learned to deal with them…as long as Sakura wasn't in the immediate vicinity. And, unfortunately, she was.

VERY immediate vicinity.

And that was when Sasuke felt himself shoved to the side. It seemed to happen in slow motion. He toppled off his chair—heard Sakura's gasp and the delighted laughter of both Suigetsu and Karin—and then he acted on instinct. He grabbed, trying to find something to steady himself—and felt something warm and soft beneath his fingers, before they both slammed into the ground.

The clatter of their stools hitting the ground and rolling a few feet away echoed.

Silence reigned in the bar for a moment, before the normal lull drowned out Karin and Suigetsu's raucous laughter and Sakura and Sasuke's harsh breathing.

Sasuke found himself sitting over Sakura, straddling her waist. One of his hands was placed on the ground beside her head, to steady himself. And the other…

"Could you please move?" Sakura bit out, and he could see a deep blush creeping across her cheeks along with the flush of the alcohol.

He coughed, before sliding off of her and removing his hand from her shirt.

They both hurriedly stood, avoiding eye contact with one another—before turning to glare at Karin and Suigetsu. Sakura guessed that Karin was too drunk to realize she had just helped get Sasuke to grope her.

In fact, Karin was laughing so hard she almost fell off her own stool. Suigetsu grabbed her at the last second and they managed to stumble to their feet.

"I'm gonna get her home. She's wasted." Suigetsu smirked, "Enjoy yourselves." And then he wrapped an arm around Karin's waist as the redhead leaned against him fully, her head lulling against his shoulder.

"Where are we going?"

"To have sweaty hot sex!"

"Really? Ok!"

"Oi. You're such a ditz."

Sakura merely watched the two walk out of the bar—and watched Suigetsu's hand slide down Karin's back to grab her ass.

BAM!

"I'm not that fucking drunk!"

Sakura sighed, before turning to Sasuke. He was staring at their two teammates with a mixture of disdain, humor, and disbelief. He opted for a grunt, before running a hand through his hair.

Sakura turned to the bartender. "Put all this on my tab. I'll bring the money by tomorrow."

The bartender nodded with a smirk. "Got it."

"Let's go." Sakura mumbled, feeling flushed and a little dizzy. She needed to sleep the alcohol off before her shift at the hospital tomorrow.

Sasuke nodded, swaying slightly as he made his way to the door as gracefully as she expected. Even drunk off his ass he managed to swagger confidently out of the bar. Sakura followed, and gave another sigh as she pushed back on the door and walked into the cool night air.

She really didn't want to go to work in the morning. Oh well, she'd just have to use her special medical jutsu she'd created to stop Tsunade-shishou's hangovers—

And that was when Sasuke grabbed her, pulling her into the darkened alleyway a few feet away.

He shoved her against the wall. The action was rough but not painfully so. His actions seemed fueled more by desperation than violence. Her breath was momentarily knocked out of her as she felt his body press against hers. He was scorching hot, his fingers like small brands that brushed against her arms.

His face was flushed, glowing in the soft neon light of the bar sign. His breath rustled her bangs as he peered into her eyes. His own were slightly glazed. Oh god, he was more than just drunk. He was completely smashed.

"…Sakura…" He purred, like a sated cat.

Sakura swallowed, and as she did so Sasuke's eyes became riveted to her throat, locked there in lust-filled fascination.

"What is it Sasuke?" She kept her voice emotionless, but it trembled slightly. Heat began to boil in the pit of her stomach as his musky scent wafted around her, wreaking havoc on her senses. She couldn't be this drunk. This was a bad idea. Why did he have to look so painfully beautiful?

"Come to bed with me." He murmured seductively in her ear, nipping it. A jolt of electricity shot through her body. Oh god…

"Sasuke…" She began, a hint of breathlessness apparent in her usual monotone. "That isn't a good idea."

"Why not?" He gave as much of a pout as was possible for a drunken Uchiha. "You know you want to…"

"Sasuke…" Her tone was one of warning this time, as his hands moved up and down her arms deftly, stroking and caressing her now sensitized flesh.

A part of her was berating herself for even _suggesting_ that she take her team out drinking to celebrate, she should have known this would happen. Sasuke may have been an ass sometimes, but he was still a male with a body full of raging hormones. The other part of Sakura however, mostly incapable of thought at the moment, was melting into a puddle of goo at Sasuke's nearness, thanking anyone listening that she'd decided to get them all drunk.

"I want to hear you moan my name Sakura," Sasuke whispered hotly, his nose brushing her jaw line, "I want you to show my all those wonderful things you can do with your tongue." His voice was rough and husky. Ever since the day she'd battled Shinju… ever since he had claimed that she would be his medic and no one else's…he had wanted to hear her moan his name.

"You're _drunk _Sasuke." She answered back as she slipped out of his grasp with a frustrated sigh.

"Yes," Sasuke agreed with a drunken smirk as he leaned towards her. "But this way we can blame it on the drink, ne?"

"A nice drunken fuck." Sakura snorted. "So that we can continue hating each other in the morning. An accident." Her tone was bitter, but it softened as Sasuke's eyes flickered uncertainly and he stumbled forward. She caught him, letting him lean on her as she began walking in the direction of the Uchiha compound. It was slow work, as Sasuke continued his drunken advancements.

A part of her wondered if it was all an act to gain her trust…while another little voice in her mind was extremely pleased with the fact that he trusted her enough to let his guard down around her, to let her see his weakened state.

And then there was the part that was still screaming at her to jump him already.

God, she was never going to drink this much. _Ever_.

"Let's get you inside." She finally muttered—more to herself than anyone else—as they entered the Uchiha compound. It was dark and silent, an ominous sight. It unnerved her, and she had the strangest urge to begin filling the windows with potted plants—anything to give it a sense of life. And it made her sick, as she thought back to that dream that was all too real and vivid in her mind.

"Here we go." She smiled cheerfully as they stopped in front of his old home. "Let's get you up to your room, ne?"

"Not this one." He muttered, his tone weary.

"This is your house isn't it?" Sakura asked confusedly. He nodded, before burying his face in her shoulder once again.

"Then why—"

"Too much blood." He murmured softly into her neck. "Easier to sleep where I don't know the faces."

Sakura's dream surfaced in her mind. And she knew, or at least, she felt as if she understood the pain. The blood was too much. So she merely turned around, holding Sasuke up and beginning her walk back out of the compound.

"Alright. Let's go."

* * *

Sasuke opened his eyes wearily. The first thing he noticed was the incessant pounding in his ears. His head throbbed, and he felt nauseas. What had happened? His cheek was pressed against a wooden floor. As his vision focused he saw that he was lying on the ground next to a couch.

Next to a couch he seemed to becoming rather familiar with lately.

Sakura's apartment was recognizable once he managed to push himself into a sitting position. A bruise on the back of his head told him that he'd fallen off the couch and had spent the rest of the night on the floor. He gritted his teeth, running a hand through his hair.

He didn't remember much from the night before except…a lot of sake. Yes, lots of it. His eyes widened. What the hell…had HAPPENED?

"You're awake."

He turned to see Sakura standing in the doorway. She was wearing her hospital uniform, and walked straight past him to the kitchen. He could smell the strong scent of coffee brewing. He slowly stood, trying to ignore the dizziness and the way the room spun as he did so.

Before he could make it to the kitchen Sakura reappeared. She practically shoved the mug into his hands, and a droplet of the scalding liquid splashed onto his wrist. He barely felt it, merely gave her a questioning glance beneath his normal emotionless façade.

She walked past him again, heading to the couch. She grabbed her medical pack from the coffee table and swung it over her shoulder, before she stepped briskly to his side. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Are you done?" Her voice was strained and stilted. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. Had he done something the night before to garner this treatment?

"What's wrong?"

"Absolutely nothing. I would just prefer to get you out of my house before I go to work."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her, and he saw her bristle in defence.

"I have important scrolls in my home. No doubt you'd look at the information while I was away."

Sasuke's tone was flat when he spoke again, "You don't trust me."

Sakura merely grabbed his shoulder and shoved him at the door. "Take the cup, I don't care. Just get out." She wrenched the front door open.

"Why are you so angry?"

"I don't _want you in my house_!" And then she pushed.

Sasuke blinked as sunlight blinded him for a moment. He regained his footing—it wasn't that difficult, even with a hangover. He turned to see her standing in the doorway, looking every bit like a desperate, frightened animal. Wounded, stuck in a trap with nowhere to run. She was fighting within herself over something.

"Then why did you let me stay in the first place?" He told himself it was the aftereffects of the alcohol that was making him so talkative. He didn't like to think that it was because he truly wanted to know the answer.

Sakura froze at the doorway for a moment, before she swallowed, and then spoke. "I hate you."

"Why?"

"Because you're a traitor." Sakura spat back at him, and he could tell that the alcohol from the night before had affected her as well. Her face was slightly flushed, and her emotions were dancing in her eyes.

"Is that it?"

"I don't need another reason to hate you." She closed the door behind her, locking it deftly.

"The world is full of betrayal, Sakura." Sasuke murmured.

"I don't care. I'm loyal, and you're not." She leaned against the apartment wall, as far away from him as was physically possible in the small area.

"It isn't that simple."

"Yes it is!" She hissed out, and he saw her emerald eyes glisten.

"How?"

"Because there is only good and bad. Black and white." She snapped at him.

"There has to be something in-between." Sasuke whispered.

"THERE ARE NO SHADES OF GREY!" She yelled back frustratingly. "You can't be loyal to your village and yet still betray it. It doesn't work that way you damn idiot!" And then she made to walk past him, away from him and away from the painful truth.

He grabbed her arm as she passed. She whirled around to face him, hand glowing, ready to strike.

"You're wrong, Sakura. We kill, we have no bias towards innocent or guilty, we merely follow our Kage's orders." Sasuke spoke softly. "There is no such thing as black and white. There are only shades of grey."

…

…

…

"…I know." It was a broken whisper. "But if I tell myself that there is only good and bad, if I tell myself that my kage would only send me on missions where evil is killed, not good, then I won't feel guilty. I won't break. I won't die. I can continue on blindly, believing my kage is noble and just in everything."

"Cruelty is a way of the world."

"I hate it."

"I know."

"And I hate you."

"I know."

But they both knew she was lying.

Sasuke slowly let go of her, and for a moment she didn't move. Finally, she pulled away, and he felt the wind rush passed him as she turned.

Away from him.

He swallowed, and he saw her hand clench. Then she relaxed, and she turned to regard him, her face calm. But it was not emotionless, only…stoic. She bit her lip, before she shook her head with a sigh. Then she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her hospital coat and began walking down the stairs to the first floor of the apartment complex.

He watched her back, watched as she walked away and down the street. She stopped for a moment, turning to look at him again, before continuing on her way.

He didn't move for a moment. He leaned against the rusted iron of the apartment balcony railing and stared down at his feet.

He blinked.

He wiggled his toes experimentally, and watched as the flesh colored digits moved freely.

He wasn't wearing any shoes. They were still in Sakura's apartment.

He blinked again, before a small smirk spread across his face. He pushed off of the wall, stuffing his hands into his pockets in a way eerily similar to his pink-haired teammate and began walking barefoot back to the Uchiha compound.

He felt the presence of several ANBU following him at a distance, and for once, he wasn't annoyed.

After all, he'd have to come back and get his shoes from Sakura's later that night.

* * *

**La Fin**

* * *

**(A\N: Well? I tried to add a little SasuSaku-ness in the ending there. :) Suigetsu's trying his hand at matchmaking it seems...:D And I know some of you are freaking out but…remember, there's a sequel, it isn't REALLY over! :D I haven't gotten to the Jonin Exams after all. :D Anyway…I hope you guys have enjoyed reading Shades of Grey as much as I have enjoyed writing it. It really has been a learning experience, and I can tell my skills have improved through writing this story, along with my other fanfics. I hope they continue to please.**

**Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)**


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